愁眉苦脸
chóuméikǔliǎn
to look worried; to pull a long face
Characters in this word
眉 méi
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 目 — eye
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
苦 kǔ
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 艹 — grass, weed, plant, herb
- Made of
- 艹 grass, weed, plant, herb 古 old, classic, ancient
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
脸 liǎn
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- ⺼ — meat, flesh
- Made of
- ⺼ meat, flesh 佥 all, together, unanimous
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 他整天愁眉苦脸的，朋友们都很担心。 Tā zhěngtiān chóuméikǔliǎn de, péngyoumen dōu hěn dānxīn. He goes around with a long face all day, and his friends are worried.
- 别愁眉苦脸的，事情没那么糟。 Bié chóuméikǔliǎn de, shìqing méi nàme zāo. Don't pull such a long face; things aren't that bad.
- 拿到成绩单，他愁眉苦脸地回了家。 Nádào chéngjìdān, tā chóuméikǔliǎn de huí le jiā. After getting his report card, he went home with a long face.
Related words
- 愁 chóu to worry; to be sad
- 发愁 fāchóu to worry, to feel anxious
- 犯愁 fànchóu to worry; to be troubled by
- 忧愁 yōuchóu sorrowful; melancholy
- 眉毛 méimao eyebrow
- 眉开眼笑 méikāiyǎnxiào to beam with joy; all smiles
- 痛苦 tòngkǔ pain; suffering
- 苦 kǔ bitter
- 艰苦 jiānkǔ hard; difficult
- 酸甜苦辣 suāntiánkǔlà life's joys and hardships
- 辛苦 xīnkǔ hard; tiring
- 吃苦 chīkǔ to endure hardship