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扣人心弦 (kòu rén xīn xián) — thrilling; gripping; exciting (of a story, performance, match, etc.)

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'gripping, thrilling' — used for stories, performances, or matches that pull at the audience's emotions. Stronger than 激动 ('excited' describes the person); pair with 惊心动魄 for 'heart-stopping' scenes.

phrase
thrillinggrippingexciting (of a story, performance, match, etc.)

Examples

  • 扣人心弦，。
    Zhè chǎng zú qiú jué sài kòu rén xīn xián, guān zhòng dōu jī dòng dé zhàn le qǐ lái.
    This football final was gripping, and the audience stood up in excitement.
  • 扣人心弦，。
    Nà bù diàn yǐng kòu rén xīn xián, měi gè qíng jié dōu ràng rén jǐn zhāng.
    That movie was thrilling; every plot point made people nervous.
  • 扣人心弦，。
    Tā xiě le yí bù kòu rén xīn xián de xiǎo shuō, dú zhě dōu fēi cháng xǐ huan.
    He wrote a gripping novel that readers all loved very much.

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
口
口kǒu扣kòu
Same sound today

扣 puts 手 (hand) beside 口 (mouth); 口 gives the sound, while 手 shows it is about a hand action.

Open 扣 →

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 →

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
弓弓gōngbow
Sound part声符shēngfú
玄
玄xuán弦xián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

弦 uses 弓 (bow) to show what it is about and 玄 to show how it is pronounced.

Open 弦 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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