📖 Meaning
A metaphor for grief so extreme that it cannot be expressed or endured. It suggests being so utterly heartbroken that there is nothing left inside to break. The idiom conveys sorrow beyond the limits of description.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a ci poem titled 'Chou Yi Lan' (愁倚阑) by the Song Dynasty poet Shi Xiaoxiang. The poem depicts a desolate autumn landscape of withered grass, a cold river, and yellow clouds beneath the setting sun. The poet writes that even if one still had intestines they would surely break — and since there are none left, the grief is beyond words, expressing ultimate despair and sorrow.
💡 Example Usage
老母亲得知儿子阵亡的消息，悲痛得无肠可断。
Upon hearing the news of her son's death in battle, the old mother was so grief-stricken that she had no intestines left to break.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 无肠可断
- Pinyin: wú cháng kě duàn
- Literal Translation: no, intestines, can, break
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4