📖 Meaning
Describes a person who has become extremely emaciated, with the body wasted away and bones standing out. It typically connotes severe weight loss caused by illness, grief, or prolonged hardship.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces to the 'Annals of Liang' in the History of the Southern Dynasties (南史·梁本纪), which records that a Liang emperor, originally robust in physique, became so wasted away upon reaching the capital that only his bones stood out ('销毁骨立'). The expression was later condensed into the four-character idiom '形销骨立' to denote extreme emaciation. It is often associated with deterioration brought on by sorrow, illness, or exhaustion rather than mere thinness.
💡 Example Usage
大病初愈的他形销骨立，几乎叫人认不出来。
After a long illness he had wasted away until he was skin and bones, almost unrecognizable.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 形销骨立
- Pinyin: xíng xiāo gǔ lì
- Literal Translation: form, waste away, bone, stand
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4