The Chinese word 绝地 (juédì) is a compound formed by combining the character 绝, meaning "to cut off", "to sever", or "extreme", with 地, meaning "land", "ground", or "situation". Together, they create a vivid metaphorical concept that literally translates to "cut-off land" or "terminated ground". This figuratively describes an isolated, desperate, or hopeless situation with no way out, such as a dead end, an impasse, or a perilous place of last resort, much like the English idiom "between a rock and a hard place". The formation follows a common Chinese word-building pattern where two meaningful characters are joined to express a new, nuanced idea that is more than the sum of its parts.