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丧心病狂 (sàng xīn bìng kuáng) — (idiom) frenzied and heartless; morally insane; cold-bloodedly cruel

Definition

A strong chengyu for extreme, heartless cruelty — losing one's conscience to the point of madness. Used for actions or people that are wildly and cold-bloodedly vicious, more intense than ordinary 'cruel' (残忍).

idiom
frenzied and heartlessmorally insanecold-bloodedly cruel

Examples

  • 丧心病狂。
    Nà ge zuì fàn de xíng wéi jiǎn zhí shì sàng xīn bìng kuáng.
    That criminal's actions are simply heartless and insane.
  • 丧心病狂，。
    Wèi le qián tā zuò chū sàng xīn bìng kuáng de shì, yì diǎn yě bù hòu huǐ.
    He did something crazily vicious for money, without any regret.
  • 丧心病狂。
    Zhè xiē sàng xīn bìng kuáng de piàn zi zhuān mén qī piàn lǎo nián rén.
    These morally insane swindlers specifically target elderly people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

丧心lose one's mind
丧sànglose心xīnmind
动宾Verb + object
病狂illness and madness
病bìngillness狂kuángmadness
联合Coordinate

“丧心” losing mind and “病狂” illness and madness combine to describe frenzied cruelty.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 喪; 丧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㗊㗊㗊many mouths
Sound part声符shēngfú
桑
桑sāng喪sàng
Same sound today

The traditional form 喪 originally paired 桑 (mulberry tree) with 㗊 (many mouths). The simplified 丧 is the modern form, deriving from a form that used 哭 (cry) and 亡 (die).

Open 丧 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèsickness
Sound part声符shēngfú
丙
丙bǐng病bìng
Same sound today

病 pairs 疒, a sickness mark, with 丙, which gives the sound; 丙 also means fire, giving a picture of lying feverishly in bed.

Open 病 →

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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