硬着头皮 (yìng zhe tóu pí) — to brace oneself (to do something unpleasant or embarrassing), to force oneself to do something despite reluctance

Definition

A colloquial idiom meaning to force oneself to do something unpleasant or embarrassing, like 'brace oneself' or 'bite the bullet'.

verb
to brace oneself (to do something unpleasant or embarrassing), to force oneself to do something despite reluctance

Examples

  • ，硬着头皮。
    Suī rán hěn jǐn zhāng, tā hái shì yìng zhe tóu pí shàng tái fā yán le.
    Although very nervous, he still braced himself and went on stage to speak.
  • ，。
    Tā yìng le tóu pí, zǒu jìn le lǎo bǎn de bàn gōng shì.
    He steeled himself and walked into the boss's office.
  • ，，硬着头皮。
    Wǒ bú huì yóu yǒng, dàn wèi le jiù hái zi, zhǐ hǎo yìng zhe tóu pí tiào xià qù.
    I can't swim, but to save the child, I had to force myself to jump in.

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
更
更gèng硬yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

硬 is built from 石, meaning stone, to show hardness or stiffness, and 更, which gives the sound.

Open 硬 →

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 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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