断肠

斷腸
duàncháng
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 heartbroken
  2. 2 to break one's heart
  3. 3 intestines snapping with grief

Examples

HSK 7-9
Xīyáng-xīxià, duàncháng rén zài tiānyá.
The setting sun sinks west; the heartbroken wanderer is at the edge of the world.
HSK 7-9
Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā duàncháng liúlèi.
On hearing the news she wept heartbroken tears.

Tips

culture
The line 夕阳西下断肠人在天涯 closes Ma Zhiyuan's 《天净沙·秋思》 (Yuan-dynasty sanqu poem) - one of the most quoted images of grief and homesickness in Chinese literature.
register
Literary / poetic. In modern conversation use 心碎 ('heart-shattered') or 伤心 ('sad') instead.

Stroke Order

duàn
cháng