Chinese word

心酸

Pronunciation

Pinyinxīn suān

Meaning

  • adjectivesad

Example

看到旧照片，我不由得心酸。kàn dào jiù zhào piān wǒ bù yóu de xīn suān

Seeing the old photos, I can't help but feel sad.

Illustration for 心酸 (sad)

More examples

他的话让人心酸。tā de huà ràng rén xīn suān

His words make people feel sad.

Core concept

A quiet emotional pain stirred by something that brings sadness to mind.

Common phrases

  • 令人心酸lìng rén xīn suān

    heartrending

  • 感到心酸gǎn dào xīn suān

    feel pained

  • 心酸的回忆xīn suān de huí yì

    sad memories

Similar words

难过nán guò: Feeling sad, troubled, and low in spirits.
伤心shāng xīn: Feeling deeply sad and hurt by a painful event or loss.
心痛xīn tòng: Feeling emotional pain that seems to ache in the heart.
悲伤bēi shāng: Feeling deep, heavy sorrow.

Definition in Chinese

因回忆、目睹或想起令人难过的事情而在心里感到隐隐的痛苦或酸楚。yīn huí yì mù dǔ huò xiáng qǐ lìng rén nán guò de shì qíng ér zài xīn lǐ gǎn dào yín yǐn de tòng kǔ huò suān chǔ

Word origin

心 (xīn, "heart") + 酸 (suān, "sour") uses the bodily sensation of sourness to picture sorrow that makes the heart hurt.

Usage tips

  • The feeling can belong to a person who witnesses someone else's hardship, so the word is useful for showing sympathy as well as personal sadness.

Other meanings

  • painedadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word