📖 Meaning
Grief and sorrow welling up from the depths of one's heart. It describes an overwhelming feeling of sadness that surges from within and cannot be suppressed or contained.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the famous poem "Duan Ge Xing" (短歌行) by Cao Cao, the warlord and poet of the Wei kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. In the poem, Cao Cao writes "悲从中来，不可断绝" — sorrow wells up from within and cannot be severed. The poem laments the fleeting nature of life and expresses Cao Cao's yearning for talented men to help him achieve his unification ambitions. The phrase has since become a classical expression for deep, uncontrollable grief that arises spontaneously from the heart.
💡 Example Usage
听到老友去世的噩耗，他悲从中来，泪如雨下。
Upon hearing the devastating news of his old friend's passing, grief welled up from within him and tears fell like rain.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 悲从中来
- Pinyin: bēi cóng zhōng lái
- Literal Translation: sorrow, from, within, comes
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4