不堪入耳 (bù kān rù ěr) — unbearably vulgar or offensive to the ear (of speech, music, etc.)

Definition

Strong chengyu meaning 'intolerably vulgar or offensive to the ear' — applied to swear words, crude jokes, or harsh music that one cannot stand to listen to. More forceful than saying 难听, which just means 'harsh-sounding'.

idiom
unbearably vulgar or offensive to the ear (of speech, music, etc.)

Examples

  • 不堪入耳，。
    Tā shuō de zāng huà bù kān rù ěr, ràng rén tīng le hěn bù shū fu.
    The swear words he said were unbearable to the ear and made people quite uncomfortable.
  • ，不堪入耳。
    Nà shǒu yīn yuè xuán lǜ cū cāo, jiǎn zhí bù kān rù ěr.
    That piece of music has a rough melody — it's simply offensive to the ear.
  • ，不堪入耳，。
    Zhè duàn xiàng sheng nèi róng dī sú, bù kān rù ěr, bú shì hé ér tóng.
    This cross-talk routine has vulgar content, offensive to the ear, and is not suitable for children.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

不堪cannot bear
不bùnot堪kānbear
偏正Modifier + head
入耳enter ear
入rùenter耳ěrear
动宾Verb + object

不 'not' + 堪 'bear' + 入 'enter' + 耳 'ear': what cannot bear entering the ear is offensive.

Characters in this word

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
甚
甚shèn堪kān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 土 is earth. The right part 甚 gives the sound and also hints at something extreme, matching the old idea of a heavy earthen protrusion whose weight one bears.

Open 堪 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

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

耳 is drawn as a picture of an ear.

Open 耳 →

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