头昏脑胀

頭昏腦脹

tóuhūn-nǎozhàng

idiom #34,581

Meanings

1 dizzy and muddle-headed
2 head spinning; mentally exhausted; foggy-headed

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

看了一天的报告，我头昏脑胀。

Kàn le yì tiān de bàogào, wǒ tóuhūn-nǎozhàng.

After reading reports all day, my head was spinning.

HSK 3

他被吵得头昏脑胀。

Tā bèi chǎo de tóuhūn-nǎozhàng.

He was rattled into a dizzy fog by the noise.

HSK 4

感冒发烧让我头昏脑胀。

Gǎnmào fāshāo ràng wǒ tóuhūn-nǎozhàng.

The cold and fever left me feeling dizzy and muddled.

Tips

history

Modern set phrase rather than a classical chengyu; a representative usage comes from 20th-century writer Ye Shengtao (叶圣陶) in his story 《友谊》: 她又不是发烧发得头昏脑胀的 ('It's not as if she's running a fever that's left her dizzy and dazed'). Also written 头昏脑涨 with the variant 涨.

Stroke Order

头 tóu

昏 hūn

脑 nǎo

胀 zhàng