TongTong
Sign in

惨状 (cǎn zhuàng) — miserable condition; tragic sight

Definition

惨状 describes a visual scene of devastation or suffering — the 'tragic sight' one sees, not an ongoing state like 状况. Often used after disasters, wars, or accidents (一片惨状).

noun
miserable conditiontragic sight

Examples

  • 惨状。
    Chē huò xiàn chǎng de cǎn zhuàng ràng rén bù rěn zhí shì.
    The tragic sight at the car accident scene was unbearable to look at.
  • ，惨状。
    Zhàn zhēng guò hòu, zhěng gè chéng shì yí piàn cǎn zhuàng.
    After the war, the entire city was a scene of misery.
  • ，惨状。
    Jīng jì wēi jī dǎo zhì xǔ duō gōng chǎng dǎo bì, gōng rén shēng huó cǎn zhuàng.
    The economic crisis caused many factories to close, and workers lived in miserable conditions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

惨cǎnmiserable
状zhuàngcondition

“惨” gives miserable and “状” gives condition, so together they mean a tragic sight.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 慘; 惨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
參
參cān慘cǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 慘 puts 心 (heart) with 參 as its sound part. The simplified 惨 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical form.

Open 惨 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 狀; 状 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán狀zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 狀 pairs 犬 (dog) with 爿 as a sound component; the simplified 状 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 状 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.