胆寒

膽寒
dǎnhán
verb #33,821

Meanings

  1. 1 to be terrified
  2. 2 to be struck with fear
  3. 3 to have one's blood run cold

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā de yǎnshén lìngrén dǎnhán.
His gaze makes people's blood run cold.
HSK 7-9
Tīngdào nàge xiāoxi, suǒyǒu rén dōu bùhán'érlì, dǎnhán bùyǐ.
Hearing that news, everyone shuddered and was struck with terror.

Tips

memory
Literally 'gallbladder cold'. Traditional Chinese medicine treats the gallbladder () as the seat of courage, so a 'cold gallbladder' = courage drained away by fear.
register
胆寒 is literary - common in news and fiction (令人胆寒闻之胆寒) but rare in casual chat, where 害怕 or 吓死了 would be used.

Stroke Order

dǎn
hán