📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to a serious hidden danger or a major threat in a vital, critical area. It describes a deeply embedded problem that poses significant risk, often originating from within rather than from outside. The phrase emphasizes that the danger is not superficial but reaches to the core.
📜 Origin Story
The term combines '心腹' (heart and belly, metaphorically referring to one's most vital parts or closest associates) with '大患' (great calamity or trouble). In classical Chinese military and political discourse, internal threats were considered far more dangerous than external ones, as they strike at the very core of an organization or state. The idiom draws on the medical metaphor that disease in vital organs is life-threatening, unlike ailments in extremities. It has been used in historical texts to warn rulers and leaders about dangers lurking within their inner circles.
💡 Example Usage
如果不及时整治，腐败将成为国家的心腹大患。
If not promptly addressed, corruption will become a grave internal threat to the nation.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 心腹大患
- Pinyin: xīn fù dà huàn
- Literal Translation: heart, belly, great, trouble
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4