惨痛

慘痛

cǎntòng

adjective HSK 7 #17,783

Meanings

1 painful; grievous
2 bitter (of lessons or experiences)

Characters

tragic; miserable

painful; aching

Literally 'tragically painful' — suffering that leaves a deep mark.

Examples

这是一次惨痛的教训。

Zhè shì yí cì cǎntòng de jiàoxun.

This was a painful lesson.

他付出了惨痛的代价。

Tā fùchū le cǎntòng de dàijià.

He paid a grievous price.

Tips

usage

惨痛 almost always collocates with 教训 (jiàoxun, lesson) or 代价 (dàijià, price/cost). '惨痛的教训' is one of the most common fixed phrases in Chinese — you'll see it in news, speeches, and essays.

Stroke Order

惨 cǎn

痛 tòng