📖 Meaning
This idiom describes sweating profusely so that one's back is completely drenched. Originally it conveyed a sense of extreme fear or terror that caused one to break out in a cold sweat. It is now also commonly used to describe heavy perspiration from heat or physical exertion.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Han dynasty work 'Xu Lienü Zhuan' (Biographies of Exemplary Women, Continued) by Liu Xiang. In the story, a man named Chang was so startled and frightened that he did not know what to say and sweat soaked through his back. The expression thus originally depicted the physical reaction of overwhelming fear, though over time it broadened to also describe sweating heavily from labor or heat.
💡 Example Usage
烈日下劳作了一天，他汗出浃背，衣服湿得能拧出水来。
Having worked under the scorching sun all day, he was drenched in sweat, his clothes so wet they could be wrung out.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 汗出浃背
- Pinyin: hàn chū jiā bèi
- Literal Translation: sweat, come out, soak through, back
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4