青息吐息(あおいきといき)

あおいきといき
noun
gasping for breath; deep sighs of distress
1. gasping for breath; deep sighs of distress
Heavy sighing due to difficulty, worry, or financial trouble. Describes a state of being at one's wit's end.
借金(しゃっきん)で青息吐息(あおいきといき)だ。
I'm gasping under the weight of debt.
経済(けいざい)状況(じょうきょう)で中小企業(ちゅうしょうきぎょう)は青息吐息(あおいきといき)だ。
Small businesses are struggling due to the economic situation.
仕事(しごと)に追(お)われて青息吐息(あおいきといき)の毎日(まいにち)だ。
Every day I'm gasping for breath, overwhelmed by work.

Literally "blue breath, exhaled breath" - 青(あお) here suggests a pale, sickly color from distress.

COMMON CONTEXTS:

  • Financial difficulties
  • Being overwhelmed with work
  • Business struggling to survive

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 青息吐息(あおいきといき)だ: to be struggling/gasping
  • 青息吐息(あおいきといき)の状態(じょうたい): a dire state

NUANCE:
Implies serious, ongoing difficulty rather than temporary inconvenience.

general
Added 2026.1.17 6:25 · Revised 2026.1.19 21:17
06000/06024_aoikitoiki