百足之虫死而不僵

a centipede dies but never falls down / old institutions die hard

no; not so / (bound form) not; un-

to die / impassable / uncrossable / inflexible / rigid / extremely / damned

and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

hundred / numerous / all kinds of

variant of 蟲|虫[chong2]

lower form of animal life, including insects, insect larvae, worms and similar creatures / CL:條|条[tiao2],隻|只[zhi1] / (fig.) person with a particular undesirable characteristic

excessive

foot / to be sufficient / ample

rigid / deadlock / stiff (corpse)

variant of 僵[jiang1]

centipede / millipede

dead but showing no signs of rigor mortis / to die hard (idiom) / to die yet not be vanquished (idiom)