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不堪回首 (bù kān huí shǒu) — can't bear to look back; too painful to recall

Definition

An idiom for memories that are too painful to revisit — the past itself is unbearable, not just the thought of it. Used for deeply bitter personal or collective experiences (war, trauma, regret).

idiom
can't bear to look backtoo painful to recall

Examples

  • ，不堪回首。
    Huí yì qǐ nà duàn zhàn zhēng nián dài, zhēn shì bù kān huí shǒu.
    Recalling those war years, it's truly unbearable to look back.
  • 不堪回首。
    Nà duàn tòng kǔ de jīng lì ràng rén bù kān huí shǒu.
    That painful experience is too bitter to recall.
  • ，不堪回首。
    Měi dāng tí dào guò qù, tā dōu huì yáo tóu shuō bù kān huí shǒu.
    Whenever the past comes up, he shakes his head and says it's too painful to recall.

Origin

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 →

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

回 comes from a drawing of a spiral, showing something turning around.

Open 回 →

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 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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