煎熬

jiān'áo

verb HSK 7-9 #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

HSK 4

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.

HSK 5

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.

HSK 7-9

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