心潮澎湃 (xīn cháo péng pài) — (idiom) to be filled with surging emotions; deeply stirred; emotionally overwhelmed

Definition

Literally 'heart's tide surging' — a vivid, written-style idiom for being swept up by strong emotion (joy, awe, nostalgia). Conveys a more intense, literary feeling than everyday 激动.

idiom
to be filled with surging emotionsdeeply stirredemotionally overwhelmed

Examples

  • ,心潮澎湃。
    Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, wǒ bù jīn xīn cháo péng pài.
    Upon hearing this good news, I couldn't help but feel an upsurge of emotion.
  • ,心潮澎湃,。
    Zhàn zài cháng chéng shàng, tā nèi xīn xīn cháo péng pài, gǎn kǎi wàn qiān.
    Standing on the Great Wall, his heart surged with emotion and he was filled with countless feelings.
  • ,心潮澎湃。
    Měi dāng huí yì qǐ nà duàn fèn dòu de suì yuè, wǒ réng rán xīn cháo péng pài.
    Whenever I recall those years of hard struggle, I'm still deeply stirred.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

心潮heart's tide
心xīnheart潮cháotide
偏正Modifier + head
澎湃surging
澎péngsurge湃pàiwaves
联合Coordinate

The 心潮 swells 澎湃, like waves rising in the heart.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
朝
朝cháo潮cháo
Same sound today

潮 has 氵, the water form 水, on the left to show a water connection, with 朝 on the right giving the sound.

Open 潮 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 澎 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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