📖 Meaning
Heartache that cuts to the bone. It describes an extreme degree of grief, anguish, or bitter indignation. The idiom conveys suffering so deep that it penetrates one's very bones.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Qing dynasty collection 'Yetan Suilu' (Night Tales Random Notes) by He Bang'e, in the tale 'Bai Ping.' In the story, a character is accused of grave betrayal—surpassing even notorious historical figures like Wang Kui and Li Yi—and the narrator reflects that the thought of it brings pain that cuts to the bone, accumulated not over a single day or night. The expression thus conveys profound, long-standing anguish and resentment.
💡 Example Usage
听到昔日好友竟在背后诬陷自己，她感到痛心切骨，久久说不出话来。
Hearing that her old friend had been falsely accusing her behind her back, she felt a pain that cut to the bone and could not speak for a long time.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 痛心切骨
- Pinyin: tòng xīn qiè gǔ
- Literal Translation: pain, heart, cut, bone
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4