心力交瘁

xīnlì-jiāocuì
idiom #31,324

Meanings

  1. 1 mind and body both exhausted
  2. 2 drained physically and mentally
  3. 3 burned out in every sense

Examples

HSK 3
Zhàogù shēngbìng de mǔqīn ràng tā xīnlì-jiāocuì.
Caring for her sick mother left her physically and emotionally drained.
HSK 4
Liánxù jiābān yí gè yuè, tā yǐjīng xīnlì-jiāocuì.
After a solid month of overtime, he was exhausted in every way.
HSK 6
Xiàngmù wánchéng shí, zhěnggè tuánduì dōu xīnlì-jiāocuì.
By the time the project finished, the whole team was completely burned out.

Tips

usage
Heavy word - implies exhaustion that's both mental and physical, usually from long periods of stress. Don't use it for ordinary tiredness; for that, (lèi) or 疲倦 (píjuàn) is enough.
memory
(mind) + (body strength) + (mutually) + (worn out): your mind and body are wearing each other out at the same time. Perfect for the modern 'burnout' concept.

Stroke Order

xīn
jiāo
cuì