忧心如焚 — “To be consumed by intense anxiety”
忧心如焚 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be consumed by intense anxiety”. To be extremely worried and agitated, as if one's heart is burning. Literally, “Worried heart like burning; anxious heart as if on fire”.
忧心如焚 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 忧yōu
- 心xīn
- 如rú
- 焚fén
忧心如焚 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 忧心如焚
Origin and Story of 忧心如焚
The idiom '忧心如焚' (yōu xīn rú fén) originates from a historical account during the Western Zhou Dynasty. King You of Zhou was a despotic ruler who doted on his favorite concubine, Bao Si.
To amuse her, he would order large quantities of silk to be torn, as she enjoyed the sound. More notoriously, he repeatedly lit the beacon fires – a signal meant only for grave emergencies – just to make Bao Si laugh. Feudal lords rushed to the capital, only to find it was a prank, causing great resentment.
King You's heavy taxation, neglect of natural disasters, and appointment of corrupt officials like Yin Taishi led to widespread suffering among the people and disarray in the court.
A loyal minister named Jia Fu was deeply troubled by the king's misdeeds. He composed a poem expressing his profound anxiety, likening his worry to being burned by fire, and urged the king to see the decline of the kingdom.
However, King You ignored all warnings and continued his reckless ways. Ultimately, he was killed at Lishan, bringing an end to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Jia Fu's intense worry, akin to his heart being on fire, became the essence of '忧心如焚'.
Idioms Related to 忧心如焚
Synonyms of 忧心如焚
Antonyms of 忧心如焚
More idioms starting with 忧
- yōu忧gōng公rú如jiā家worry about public affairs as family matters
- yōu忧gōng公wàng忘sī私put public interests before personal ones
- yōu忧gōng公wú无sī私selfless devotion to public good
- yōu忧xǐ喜jiāo交bìng并mixed feelings of sorrow and joy
- yōu忧guó国āi哀mín民worry about the nation and grieve for the people
- yōu忧guó国fèng奉gōng公worry about country, devote to public duty
- yōu忧guó国rú如jiā家worry about the country as one's home
- yōu忧guó国wàng忘jiā家worry about country, forget family
- yōu忧guó国wàng忘sī私worry about the country, forget self-interest
- yōu忧guó国wàng忘shēn身worry about the country, forget oneself
- yōu忧guó国yōu忧mín民worry about the country and its people
- yōu忧guó国xù恤mín民worry about country, care for people
Questions about 忧心如焚
- What does 忧心如焚 mean?
- 忧心如焚 (yōu xīn rú fén) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be consumed by intense anxiety”.
- How do you pronounce 忧心如焚?
- 忧心如焚 is pronounced yōu xīn rú fén in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 忧心如焚 literally mean?
- Literally, 忧心如焚 means “Worried heart like burning; anxious heart as if on fire”. It is used to mean “to be consumed by intense anxiety”.
- Where does 忧心如焚 come from?
- 忧心如焚 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 忧心如焚?
- 如焚：象火烧一样。心里愁得象火烧一样。形容非常忧虑焦急。