📖 Meaning
This idiom describes someone who has committed extremely serious crimes and grave misdeeds. It conveys the severity of wrongdoing being both deep in nature and heavy in consequence. It is often used in legal or moral condemnation contexts.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to the Song dynasty, appearing in a letter by the renowned scholar-official Ouyang Xiu to his fourteenth younger brother. In the letter, Ouyang Xiu wrote that his own offenses were deeply grave and he had not yet met his demise. Over time, the expression came to be used to characterize individuals whose crimes were exceptionally severe. It appears in later Ming dynasty works such as Zhu Guozhen's anecdotal collection to describe notorious bandits.
💡 Example Usage
此人罪恶深重，天理难容，终遭严惩。
This man's crimes were so grave and profound that even heaven could not tolerate them, and he ultimately met severe punishment.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 罪恶深重
- Pinyin: zuì è shēn zhòng
- Literal Translation: sin, evil, deep, heavy
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4