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消沉 (xiāo chén) — depressed, low-spirited

Definition

消沉 describes a lingering low mood after a setback, often paired with 情绪. It is more sustained than 沮丧 (a brief reaction to bad news) and less heavy than 抑郁 (a clinical depression).

adjective
depressedlow-spirited

Examples

  • ，消沉。
    Tā zuì jìn gōng zuò yā lì hěn dà, qíng xù hěn xiāo chén.
    He's been under a lot of work pressure lately and feels very depressed.
  • ，消沉。
    Tīng dào zhè ge huài xiāo xi, tā gǎn dào fēi cháng xiāo chén.
    Upon hearing this bad news, she felt extremely downhearted.
  • 消沉，。
    Bú yào yīn wèi yí cì shī bài jiù xiāo chén, yào zhèn zuò qǐ lái.
    Don't get depressed over one failure; pull yourself together.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

消xiāofade
沉chénsink

消 and 沉 both suggest fading or sinking, together describing low spirits.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào消xiāo
Same sound today

消 has 氵 (water) beside 肖. The water part connects to putting out or making something vanish, and 肖 gives the sound.

Open 消 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 沉 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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