不堪回首

bùkān-huíshǒu

idiom #21,970

Meanings

1 too painful to look back on
2 cannot bear to recall
3 unbearable to reminisce about

Characters

to bear / to endure

to turn back / to return

Examples

HSK 5

那段艰苦的岁月，不堪回首。

Nà duàn jiānkǔ de suìyuè, bùkān-huíshǒu.

Those difficult years are too painful to look back on.

HSK 7-9

战争带来的苦难令人不堪回首。

Zhànzhēng dàilái de kǔnàn lìngrén bùkān-huíshǒu.

The suffering brought by war is unbearable to recall.

Tips

history

This phrase comes from 李煜's ci poem 《虞美人》: '小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中.' Li Yu, last ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty, wrote this while a captive of the Song dynasty, lamenting his lost kingdom, a poem so poignant it reportedly led to his execution.

Stroke Order

不 bù

堪 kān

回 huí

首 shǒu