争执不下
zhēng zhí bù xià
to argue with neither side giving way; deadlocked
Character by character
争zhēng
dispute
dispute
执zhí
hold firm
hold firm
不bù
not
not
下xià
settle
settle
Example
两个部门为了预算争执不下，最后只好由总经理来决定。
The two departments were deadlocked over the budget, and in the end the general manager had to decide.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Used of two or more parties: 双方争执不下, 几个人争执不下. The sentence usually goes on to say how the deadlock was broken (最后…, 只好…). 争执 on its own means a dispute or quarrel.
Learn this in Lesson 129 · HSK 7–9: 老小区加装电梯 (Putting lifts into old blocks)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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