心慌意乱 (xīn huāng yì luàn) — flustered and anxious; in a panic; distraught | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid chengyu meaning 'heart racing, thoughts scattered' — describes someone in a panic who can't think clearly. Used in both casual speech and writing, but stronger and more literary than just 紧张.

idiom

flustered and anxiousin a panicdistraught

Examples

，心慌意乱，。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā xīn huāng yì luàn, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me bàn.
Hearing this news, he was flustered and didn't know what to do.
心慌意乱，。
Kǎo shì zhī qián tā zǒng shì xīn huāng yì luàn, zuò lì bù ān.
She always gets panicky before exams, unable to sit still.
心慌意乱，，。
Bié xīn huāng yì luàn, màn màn shuō, wǒ men yì qǐ xiǎng bàn fǎ.
Don't panic — take your time telling us, and we'll figure it out together.

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.

心慌heart flustered

心xīnheart慌huāngflustered

主谓Subject + predicate

意乱mind confused

意yìmind乱luànconfused

主谓Subject + predicate

心 means heart, 意 means mind, and 慌 and 乱 describe being flustered and confused.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄荒慌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

荒

荒huāng慌huāng

Same sound today

慌 pairs 忄 (heart) with 荒, which gives the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 亂; 乱 is its simplified writing.

𤔔乚亂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

乚Written in full as乙yǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

𤔔

𤔔𤔔亂luàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 亂 contains 𤔔, a drawing of combing tangled threads, and 乙; the simplified 乱 is only a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

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