煎熬

jiān'áo

noun/verb #7,652

Meanings

1 torment
2 suffering
3 anguish
4 to suffer; to be tormented

Characters

to fry; to simmer

to boil; to endure

Examples

等待结果的过程是一种煎熬。

Děngdài jiéguǒ de guòchéng shì yī zhǒng jiān'áo.

Waiting for the results is a form of torment.

她在病痛中煎熬了好几年。

Tā zài bìngtòng zhōng jiān'áo le hǎojǐ nián.

She suffered through illness for several years.

这种日子真是煎熬。

Zhèzhǒng rìzi zhēnshi jiān'áo.

These days are truly agonizing.

Tips

memory

Both 煎 and 熬 are cooking methods (frying and slow-boiling). Imagine being slowly cooked -- that's the suffering 煎熬 describes. Prolonged, grinding anguish.

Stroke Order

煎 jiān

熬 áo