钻心 (zuān xīn) — piercingly painful; agonizing (of pain, grief)

Definition

钻心 is an adjective-like predicate (often written as 钻心的 / 钻心般) describing pain or grief that feels like it's boring into you. Use it only for sharp, piercing suffering — not mild discomfort.

verb
piercingly painfulagonizing (of pain, grief)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 钻心。
    Tā gǎn dào yí zhèn zuān xīn de téng tòng.
    He felt a burst of piercing pain.
  • ，钻心。
    Tā tīng dào nà ge xiāo xi, xīn lǐ zuān xīn bān nán shòu.
    When she heard the news, she felt an agonizing pain in her heart.
  • ，。
    Zhè zhǒng tòng kǔ zuàn le tā de xīn, ràng tā wú fǎ rù shuì.
    This pain pierced his heart, making him unable to sleep.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

钻zuànpierce
心xīnheart

钻 means pierce and 心 means heart, so pain pierces the heart.

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 鑽; 钻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
釒Written in full as金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
贊
贊zàn鑽zuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鑽 pairs 釒 (metal) with 贊, which gives the sound; the simplified 钻 is a later shorthand.

Open 钻 →

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 →

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