灵魂出窍

靈魂出竅

línghúnchūqiào

idiom

Meanings

1 out-of-body experience
2 to be utterly transported (by music, art, beauty, fear)
3 (figurative) to space out completely

Characters

orifice / opening

Examples

听到这首歌，我简直灵魂出窍。

Tīngdào zhè shǒu gē, wǒ jiǎnzhí línghúnchūqiào.

When I heard that song, I felt completely transported out of myself.

他被吓得灵魂出窍。

Tā bèi xià de línghúnchūqiào.

He was so frightened he felt his soul leave his body.

Tips

culture

窍 means the bodily orifices through which Daoist tradition believed the spirit could leave the body. The phrase originally described shamanic / Daoist soul-flight; modern colloquial use covers anything from a transcendent concert experience to being so scared you 'lose yourself.'

Stroke Order

灵 líng

魂 hún

出 chū

窍 qiào