思之心痛

sīzhī-xīntòng

idiom

Meanings

1 a thought that brings heartache
2 painful to even think of
3 the very thought of it stings the heart

Characters

to think; to ponder

(classical object pronoun) it; this

Examples

HSK 4

战争中失去的亲人，每每思之心痛。

Zhànzhēng zhōng shīqù de qīnrén, měiměi sīzhī-xīntòng.

The loved ones lost in the war - each time I think of them, my heart aches.

HSK 7-9

那段往事，思之心痛，不愿再提。

Nàduàn wǎngshì, sīzhī-xīntòng, bù yuàn zài tí.

That past event - painful to even think about - I don't want to bring up again.

Tips

grammar

Classical-flavored 4-character pattern: 思 ('to think of') + 之 (classical pronoun 'it') + 心痛 ('heart pains'). Literally 'thinking-of-it heart-pains'. The 之 here is the same classical object pronoun as in 知之为知之 ('to know it is to know it').

register

Literary, used in essays, eulogies, and sentimental writing rather than everyday speech. Sometimes paired with 念之伤怀 ('to be saddened by remembering it') for parallelism.

Stroke Order

思 sī

之 zhī

心 xīn

痛 tòng