Chinese word

消沉

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiāo chén

Meaning

  • adjectivedown

Example

她考试后一直很消沉，没笑过。tā kǎo shì hòu yì zhí hěn xiāo chén méi xiào guò

She has been down since the exam and hasn't smiled.

Illustration for 消沉 (down)

More examples

项目失败后，他陷入消沉，难以专心工作。xiàng mù shī bài hòu tā xiàn rù xiāo chén nán yǐ zhuān xīn gōng zuò

After the project failed, he fell into a slump and had trouble focusing on work.

Core concept

A continuing loss of emotional lift that makes both activity and expression subdued.

Common phrases

  • 陷入消沉xiàn rù xiāo chén

    fall into a slump

  • 显得消沉xiǎn de xiāo chén

    look downcast

  • 消沉下来xiāo chén xià lái

    become downcast

Similar words

郁闷yù mèn: Feeling troubled and heavy inside, with little cheer or energy.
沮丧jǔ sàng: Feeling discouraged and low after a failure, setback, or disappointment.
失落shī luò: Feeling empty and down after losing something important or an expected result.
没精神méi jīng shén: Lacking energy or focus, so the face and movements do not look lively.

Definition in Chinese

精神状态低落，表现为兴趣减退、气力不足或表情淡漠。jīng shén zhuàng tài dī luò biǎo xiàn wèi xìng qù jiǎn tuì qì lì bù zú huò biǎo qíng dàn mò

Word origin

The compound 消沉 (xiāochén, "downcast") joins 消 (xiāo, "fade") with 沉 (chén, "sink"), creating a compact image of vitality receding and settling low.

Usage tips

  • In casual conversation, this adjective can sound more formal than ordinary mood descriptions, so it appears especially often in narration or explanations of a person's condition.

Other meanings

  • listlessadjective
  • feel discouragedverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word