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愁眉不展 (chóu méi bù zhǎn) — (idiom) to have a worried frown; to knit one's brows in anxiety

Definition

A chengyu describing a visible, lasting worried frown — brows knitted, face clouded with anxiety. Pairs naturally with 地 to modify a verb, as in 愁眉不展地坐着.

idiom
to have a worried frownto knit one's brows in anxiety

Examples

  • 愁眉不展，。
    Tā zuì jìn zǒng shì chóu méi bù zhǎn, hǎo xiàng yǒu shén me xīn shì.
    He has been wearing a worried frown recently, as if he has something on his mind.
  • ，愁眉不展，。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā chóu méi bù zhǎn, yì yán bù fā.
    Upon hearing this news, she frowned with worry and didn't say a word.
  • 愁眉不展，。
    Lǎo bǎn chóu méi bù zhǎn dì zuò zài bàn gōng shì lǐ, dà jiā dōu bù gǎn dǎ rǎo tā.
    The boss sat in his office with a worried frown, and no one dared to disturb him.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
秋
秋qiū愁chóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

愁 combines 秋, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart.

Open 愁 →

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

眉 originally showed 𠃜, hair, above 目, an eye.

Open 眉 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
𧝑
𧝑𧝑展zhǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

展 is built from 尸 and 𧝑. The 𧝑 part points to fine red silk clothes and also contains the idea of opening or extending.

Open 展 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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