痛心疾首 (tòng xīn jí shǒu) — to feel deep remorse or bitter hatred; to be deeply grieved and indignant

Definition

A chengyu meaning deeply distressed and furious — 'heart aching, head shaking with anger' at something shameful or unjust. Used in formal writing to express strong moral outrage.

idiom
to feel deep remorse or bitter hatredto be deeply grieved and indignant

Examples

  • 痛心疾首。
    Tā duì zì jǐ de cuò wù gǎn dào tòng xīn jí shǒu.
    He feels deep remorse for his own mistakes.
  • ，痛心疾首。
    Kàn dào zhè zhǒng bù gōng píng de xiàn xiàng, tā tòng xīn jí shǒu.
    Seeing this kind of injustice, she was filled with indignation.
  • ，痛心疾首。
    Tí qǐ nà duàn wǎng shì, tā réng rán tòng xīn jí shǒu.
    When mentioning that past event, he still feels bitter sorrow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

痛心heartache
痛tònghurt心xīnheart
动宾Verb + object
疾首headache
疾jíache首shǒuhead
动宾Verb + object

痛 and 疾 both mean ache, while 心 and 首 are heart and head; together they picture deep heartache.

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
疒疒nèillness
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng痛tòng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 疒 part means illness, and 甬 gives the sound; together they form 痛, meaning pain or hurt.

Open 痛 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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

疾 combines 疒, showing illness, with a form showing an arrow flying toward a person, giving the sense of fast.

Open 疾 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

Open 首 →

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