心力交瘁

xīnlìjiāocuì
idiom #31,324

Meanings

  1. 1 mind and body both exhausted
  2. 2 drained physically and mentally
  3. 3 burned out in every sense

Examples

Liánxù jiābān yí gè yuè, tā yǐjīng xīn lì jiāo cuì.
After a solid month of overtime, he was exhausted in every way.
Zhàogù shēngbìng de mǔqīn ràng tā xīn lì jiāo cuì.
Caring for her sick mother left her physically and emotionally drained.
Xiàngmù wánchéng shí, zhěng gè tuánduì dōu xīn lì jiāo cuì.
By the time the project finished, the whole team was completely burned out.

Tips

usage
Heavy word — implies exhaustion that's both mental and physical, usually from long periods of stress. Don't use it for ordinary tiredness; for that, (lèi) or 疲倦 (píjuàn) is enough.
memory
(mind) + (body strength) + (mutually) + (worn out): your mind and body are wearing each other out at the same time. Perfect for the modern 'burnout' concept.

Stroke Order

xīn
jiāo
cuì