九回肠

九迴腸

jiǔhuícháng

idiom

Meanings

1 guts coiling nine times
2 tangled inner anguish
3 profound, recurring grief or anxiety

Characters

nine, many times

turn, circle back

Examples

一想起往事，他便九回肠，难以入眠。

Yī xiǎng qǐ wǎngshì, tā biàn jiǔ huí cháng, nányǐ rùmián.

Whenever the old days came to mind, his insides churned and he couldn't sleep.

这首曲子听得人九回肠。

Zhè shǒu qǔzi tīng de rén jiǔ huí cháng.

The melody twists the heart into knots.

离别之情，九回肠而不能解。

Líbié zhī qíng, jiǔ huí cháng ér bù néng jiě.

The ache of parting coils through the gut and won't unwind.

Tips

culture

Chinese associates emotion with the gut rather than the heart: 肠 (intestines) is the seat of grief. 断肠 = heartbroken, 九回肠 = guts churning nine times over. Feng Yansi's ci line 九回肠，双脸泪 paired the image with streaming tears.

Stroke Order

九 jiǔ

回 huí

肠 cháng