Tā yòng suānchǔ de yǔqì jiǎngshù le zìjǐ de tóngnián.
He recounted his childhood in a tone heavy with sorrow.
Tips
usage
酸楚 is more literary and inward-facing than 悲伤 (bēishāng, 'sorrowful'). It evokes a quiet, lingering ache rather than open weeping — closer to English 'heart-aching' or 'forlorn'.
memory
酸 (sour, the taste/feel that makes your nose tingle when you're about to cry) + 楚 (literary 'pain, suffering') — the sour-tingling kind of pain.
