穷当益坚

Traditional form:

窮當益堅

Pinyin (reading):

qióngdāngyìjiān

Definitions:

• poor but ambitious (idiom); hard-pressed but determined
• the worse one's position, the harder one must fight back

Characters:

• 穷 - poor, destitute; to exhaust
• 当 - appropriate, timely; to act, to serve; the sound of bells
• 益 - to profit, to benefit; advantage
• 坚 - hard, strong; firm, resolute

Traditional characters:

• 窮 - poor, destitute; to exhaust
• 當 - appropriate, timely; to act, to serve; the sound of bells
• 益 - to profit, to benefit; advantage
• 堅 - hard, strong; firm, resolute