叫苦不迭

jiàokǔ-bùdié

idiom #89,650

Meanings

1 to complain endlessly
2 to groan without stopping
3 to cry out in distress over and over

Characters

bitter; suffering

to stop (in 不迭 idiom)

Examples

HSK 5

物价上涨，老百姓叫苦不迭。

Wùjià shàngzhǎng, lǎobǎixìng jiàokǔbùdié.

With prices rising, ordinary people were complaining without end.

HSK 6

天气太热，工人们在工地上叫苦不迭。

Tiānqì tài rè, gōngrén men zài gōngdì shàng jiàokǔbùdié.

The weather was so hot that the workers on the site couldn't stop complaining.

HSK 6

考试难度超出预期，考生们叫苦不迭。

Kǎoshì nándù chāochū yùqī, kǎoshēng men jiàokǔbùdié.

The exam was harder than expected and the test-takers couldn't stop groaning about it.

Tips

history

Attested in the Song-dynasty work 《大宋宣和遗事》: 徽宗叫苦不迭, 'Emperor Huizong cried out in distress without pause, then suddenly woke up on his bed.'

memory

不迭 is an older compound meaning 'unable to stop or keep up' (迭 = to alternate; 不迭 = can't catch up, i.e. non-stop). So literally: 'crying out in distress, can't stop'.

Stroke Order

叫 jiào

苦 kǔ

不 bù

迭 dié