心惊肉跳 (xīn jīng ròu tiào) — to tremble with fear; to be deeply alarmed or terrified

Definition

A vivid chengyu for extreme fear: 'heart shocked, flesh jumping.' Paints a physical, body-level reaction — stronger and more graphic than just 害怕.

idiom
to tremble with fearto be deeply alarmed or terrified

Examples

  • ，心惊肉跳，。
    Tīng dào nà ge kǒng bù de xiāo xi, tā gǎn dào xīn jīng ròu tiào, zhěng yè méi shuì.
    Upon hearing that terrifying news, she felt her heart pound and her flesh creep, and she didn't sleep all night.
  • ，心惊肉跳。
    Nà ge nán hái cóng xuán yá biān diào xià qù de yí shùn jiān, suǒ yǒu de rén dōu xīn jīng ròu tiào.
    The moment that boy fell off the cliff edge, everyone was scared out of their wits.
  • ，心惊肉跳，。
    Měi cì zuò guò shān chē, wǒ dōu huì jué de xīn jīng ròu tiào, dàn hái shì xiǎng zài shì yí cì.
    Every time I ride a roller coaster, I feel terrified, but I still want to try it again.

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.

心惊heart startles
心xīnheart惊jīngstartle
主谓Subject + predicate
肉跳flesh jumps
肉ròuflesh跳tiàojump
主谓Subject + predicate

Heart startled and flesh jumping together picture extreme fear.

Characters in this word

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng惊jīng
Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Open 惊 →

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Open 肉 →

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào跳tiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

跳 pairs 足 (foot) with 兆, which supplies the sound; the foot part shows the action is done with the feet.

Open 跳 →

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