TongTong
Sign in

惨绝人寰 (cǎn jué rén huán) — extremely tragic; catastrophic

Definition

A very strong written idiom meaning 'so tragic it surpasses anything human' — used for catastrophes, atrocities, or disasters at their most extreme. Heavier and more literary than 悲惨.

idiom
extremely tragiccatastrophic

Examples

  • 惨绝人寰。
    Nà chǎng zhàn zhēng cǎn jué rén huán.
    That war was extremely tragic.
  • 惨绝人寰。
    cǎn jué rén huán De zāi nàn ràng zhěng gè chéng shì biàn chéng le fèi xū.
    The catastrophic disaster turned the whole city into ruins.
  • 惨绝人寰。
    Zhè cì shì gù de cǎn jué rén huán chéng dù lìng rén nán yǐ zhì xìn.
    The degree of tragedy of this accident is unbelievable.

Origin

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 慘; 惨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
參
參cān慘cǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 慘 puts 心 (heart) with 參 as its sound part. The simplified 惨 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical form.

Open 惨 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絕; 绝 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 絕, 刀 (knife) and 幺 (silk) show a knife cutting silk threads. The simplified 绝 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original picture.

Open 绝 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng寰huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

寰 pairs 宀, a roof, with 睘, which gives the sound. The roof points to an enclosed domain around the capital.

Open 寰 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.