钻心

鑽心
zuānxīn
adjective #33,117

Meanings

  1. 1 piercing (of pain or itch)
  2. 2 agonizing; cutting to the heart
  3. 3 (literal) to bore into the heart

Examples

HSK 5
Wèi tòng de zuānxīn.
My stomach hurts so much it's piercing.
HSK 7-9
Wénzi yǎo de rén zuānxīn de yǎng.
The mosquito bites itch unbearably, like they're boring into you.

Tips

memory
= to drill / bore through; = heart. The image is a drill bit boring straight into your chest - visceral and instantly memorable. Most often heard in the collocations 钻心地痛 (piercing pain), 钻心地痒 (unbearable itch), and 钻心虫 (zuānxīnchóng, the rice / corn borer - an insect whose larvae burrow into stalks).

Stroke Order

zuān
xīn