TongTong
Sign in

汗流浃背 (hàn liú jiā bèi) — (idiom) drenched in sweat; streaming with sweat from head to back (from heat, exertion, or anxiety)

Definition

Vivid chengyu: sweat literally streams down the back. Used literally for hard labor in heat, and figuratively for being so nervous or scared the sweat pours out.

idiom
drenched in sweatstreaming with sweat from head to back (from heat, exertion, or anxiety)

Examples

  • ，汗流浃背。
    Pǎo wán wǔ gōng lǐ, tā hàn liú jiā bèi.
    After running five kilometers, he was drenched in sweat.
  • ，汗流浃背。
    Xià tiān zài tài yáng xià gàn huó, měi rén dōu hàn liú jiā bèi.
    Working under the sun in summer, everyone was streaming with sweat.
  • 汗流浃背。
    Shàng tái yǎn jiǎng shí tā jǐn zhāng dé hàn liú jiā bèi.
    He was so nervous giving the speech that he was drenched in sweat.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

汗流sweat flows
汗hànsweat流liúflow
主谓Subject + predicate
浃背soak the back
浃jiāsoak背bèiback
动宾Verb + object

汗流 says sweat flows, and 浃背 says it soaks the back, giving drenched in sweat.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān汗hàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汗 has 水, the water form, beside 干; 水 relates to liquid sweat, while 干 gives the sound.

Open 汗 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
月Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
北
北běi背bèi
Same sound today

背 was first written as 北; 北 gives the sound, and 肉 (meat, written as 月 here) was added to separate it from 北’s north meaning.

Open 背 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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