狼狈 lángbèi in a difficult situation
in a difficult situation; to cut a sorry figure; scoundrel! (derog.)
How to remember 狼狈: 狼 wolf + 狈 a legendary wolf = in a difficult situation.
Characters
How it is used
- In a sorry, disheveled, humiliating fix - 他被雨淋得很狼狈 (tā bèi yǔ lín de hěn lángbèi) he was soaked and bedraggled.
- Describes a person's awkward wretched state, not just difficulty: think embarrassment plus disarray.
- The idiom 狼狈为奸 (lángbèi wéi jiān) means to collude for evil ends - a different, villain-teaming sense.