塗炭 [涂－]

Jyutping tou4 taan3
Pinyin tú tàn

Definitions (CC-CEDICT)
  1. extreme distress
  2. in utter misery
Definitions (Wiktionary)
  1. noun
    coal
  2. noun, literary
    harrowing situation; extreme distress; great affliction
  3. verb, literary
    to ravage or devastate such that one is in great distress
  4. verb, literary
    to be in a harrowing situation; to be in great distress
Examples (粵典–words.hk)
  1. Cantonese
    黑死病喺中世纪嘅欧洲 搞到生灵涂炭。
    黑死病喺中世紀嘅歐洲 搞到生靈塗炭。
    yue:黑死病喺中世紀嘅歐洲 搞到生靈塗炭。
    • Black Death caused a great amount of death in medieval Europe.