肝肠寸断 — “To be utterly heartbroken”
肝肠寸断 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be utterly heartbroken”. To be overcome with extreme grief or sorrow. Literally, “liver and intestines cut into pieces”.
肝肠寸断 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 肝gān
- 肠cháng
- 寸cùn
- 断duàn
肝肠寸断 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 肝肠寸断
Origin and Story of 肝肠寸断
In 346 AD, General Huan Wen of the Jin Dynasty led his army upstream along the Yangtze River to attack the Shu Kingdom. As their boats entered the Three Gorges, his subordinates captured a baby ape and brought it onto the ship.
The mother ape, seeing this, became extremely anxious. She ran frantically along the riverbank, following the fleet for over a hundred li, risking her life.
When they reached Wuxia Gorge, she gathered all her strength, leaped onto the boat, and immediately died. When her body was examined, it was found that her liver and intestines were completely severed, a sight that moved everyone deeply.
Idioms Related to 肝肠寸断
Synonyms of 肝肠寸断
More idioms starting with 肝
- gān肝xīn心tú涂dì地pledge utmost loyalty and devotion
- gān肝xīn心ruò若liè裂deeply grieved or heartbroken
- gān肝cháng肠cùn寸liè裂overwhelmed with unbearable grief
- gān肝cháng肠duàn断jué绝utterly heartbroken and overwhelmed with sorrow
- gān肝dǎn胆pī披lì沥show extreme loyalty and sincerity
- gān肝dǎn胆chǔ楚yuè越close friends become estranged
- gān肝dǎn胆yù欲suì碎utterly heartbroken or extremely furious
- gān肝dǎn胆tú涂dì地die a tragic death or be utterly devoted
- gān肝dǎn胆zhào照rén人Treat others with utmost sincerity
- gān肝dǎn胆xiāng相xiàng向treat each other with utmost sincerity and loyalty
- gān肝dǎn胆xiāng相zhào照treat each other with utmost sincerity
- gān肝dǎn胆xiāng相jiàn见to treat each other with utmost sincerity
Questions about 肝肠寸断
- What does 肝肠寸断 mean?
- 肝肠寸断 (gān cháng cùn duàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be utterly heartbroken”.
- How do you pronounce 肝肠寸断?
- 肝肠寸断 is pronounced gān cháng cùn duàn in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 肝肠寸断 literally mean?
- Literally, 肝肠寸断 means “liver and intestines cut into pieces”. It is used to mean “to be utterly heartbroken”.
- Where does 肝肠寸断 come from?
- 肝肠寸断 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 肝肠寸断?
- 肝肠一寸寸断开。比喻伤心到极点。