📖 Meaning
A metaphor for baring one's heart and soul to show complete sincerity and loyalty. It describes someone who is utterly candid and open in their dealings with others, hiding nothing. The idiom is a variant of the more common expression 披肝沥胆.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of the well-known expression 披肝沥胆 (pī gān lì dǎn), which literally means to bare one's liver and pour out one's gallbladder. In traditional Chinese thought, the liver and gallbladder were associated with courage, sincerity, and deep emotion. The expression has been used since the Tang and Song dynasties to describe those who demonstrate absolute loyalty and candor. The variant 刳肝沥胆 substitutes 刳 (to cut open) for 披 (to bare), intensifying the image of total openness and devotion.
💡 Example Usage
他对我刳肝沥胆，我怎能辜负这份信任？
He has bared his heart to me with such sincerity—how could I ever betray that trust?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 刳肝沥胆
- Pinyin: kū gān lì dǎn
- Literal Translation: cut open liver, drip gallbladder
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4