胆破心寒 — “To be utterly terrified and lose all courage”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 胆破心寒?

形容由于恐惧而伏帖的样子。

胆破心寒 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be utterly terrified and lose all courage”. Often leading to a submissive or incapacitated state due to extreme fear. Literally, “Gall broken, heart chilled”.

Frequency

胆破心寒 Pronunciation and Pinyin

胆破心寒 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
胆	dǎn	9	gallbladder, courage, liner
破	pò	10	break, destroy, or defeat
心	xīn	4	heart, mind, core
寒	hán	12	cold, poor, disheartened

Example Sentence with 胆破心寒

小偷看到警察突然出现，吓得胆破心寒，立刻举手投降了。

The thief, seeing the police suddenly appear, was scared out of his wits and immediately raised his hands in surrender.

Origin and Story of 胆破心寒

During the Northern Song Dynasty, two renowned officials, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, were stationed to defend the borders of Shaanxi against frequent harassment from the Western Xia regime.

Both generals commanded highly disciplined armies that fought with exceptional bravery and tenacity. Their formidable reputations instilled great fear in the enemy.

A popular folk rhyme circulated among the border troops, stating: "In the army, there is a Han (referring to Han Qi), the Western Xia bandits hear of him and their hearts are chilled to the bone; in the army, there is a Fan (referring to Fan Zhongyan), the Western Xia bandits hear of him and their gall is shattered with fright."

This folk rhyme vividly illustrates the profound fear and loss of courage experienced by the Western Xia forces when confronted by these formidable generals, thus giving rise to the idiom "胆破心寒" (gall broken, heart chilled), describing a state of extreme terror and losing all nerve.