心惊胆颤 (xīn jīng dǎn chàn) — to be seized with terror, to tremble in fear

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'heart startled, gallbladder trembling' — extreme fear. 颤 (chàn) and 战 (zhàn) are variant spellings of the same idiom; the more common form is 战.

idiom
to be seized with terrorto tremble in fear

Examples

  • ，心惊胆颤。
    Tīng dào nà ge kǒng bù de gù shi, tā xià dé xīn jīng dǎn chàn.
    Hearing that horror story, she was scared out of her wits.
  • ，心惊胆颤。
    Zǒu zài nà tiáo qī hēi de lù shang, wǒ bù jīn xīn jīng dǎn chàn.
    Walking down that pitch-black road, I couldn't help trembling with fear.
  • ，心惊胆颤。
    Tā zhàn zài xuán yá biān shàng, gǎn dào xīn jīng dǎn chàn.
    Standing on the edge of the cliff, he felt his heart pound with terror.

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 startled
心xīnheart惊jīngstartled
主谓Subject + predicate
胆颤gall trembles
胆dǎngallbladder颤chàntremble
主谓Subject + predicate

“心” and “胆” are paired body parts, “惊” and “颤” show startled trembling, giving intense 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 →

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn胆dǎn
Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Open 胆 →

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 顫; 颤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
亶
亶dǎn顫chàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 顫, 頁 shows the head and 亶 supplies the sound; the simplified 颤 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 颤 →

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