气息奄奄 (qì xī yān yān) | Meaning: to have only a breath of life (idiom) | Chinese Idiom with Pinyin & Origin

dying · at one's last gasp奄奄一息yǎn yǎn yī xī

(idiom) to struggle on whilst at death's door苟延残喘gǒu yán cán chuǎn

to be critically ill · to be terminally ill病危bìng wēi

impoverished · destitute · hard · depressed (of business) · tattered · ragged凋敝diāo bì

as long as one lives · so long as one still has a breath left · till one's last gasp一息尚存yī xī shàng cún

to approach one's coffin (idiom); with one foot in the grave行将就木xíng jiāng jiù mù

to have only a breath of life (idiom)