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辛酸 (xīn suān) — bitter, heartbreaking, sad and miserable (of life, memories, emotions); pungent and acrid (of taste; rare usage)

Definition

Literary adjective for deeply bittersweet hardship — life's struggles, memories, tears. Stronger and more written than 苦, more emotional than 悲惨 (which stresses a tragic event).

adjective
bitterheartbreakingsad and miserable (of life, memories, emotions)pungent and acrid (of taste; rare usage)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 辛酸。
    Tā hán zhe xīn suān de lèi shuǐ jiǎng shù le tóng nián de gù shi.
    He told childhood stories with bitter tears.
  • 辛酸。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí gè jiā tíng xīn suān de mìng yùn.
    This novel depicts a family's bitter fate.
  • 辛酸，。
    Zhè zhǒng yào de wèi dào yǒu diǎn xīn suān, bú tài hǎo hē.
    This medicine tastes a bit pungent and sour, not very palatable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

辛xīnpungent
酸suānsour

The '辛' and '酸' tastes combine to describe bitter, miserable feeling.

Characters in this word

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

The oldest forms of 辛 drew a newly grown tree shoot. The shape was later also read as a sharp marking tool, but that reading may come from confusing it with another character.

Open 辛 →

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
酉酉yǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
夋
夋qūn酸suān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酸 is built from 酉 and 夋, and 夋 gives the sound.

Open 酸 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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