怵目驚心

简 怵目惊心 · 繁 怵目驚心
Mandarin · pinyin chù mù jīng xīn

Meanings

  1. lit. shocks the eye, astonishes the heart (idiom); shocking
  2. horrible to see
  3. a ghastly sight
  4. also written 觸目驚心
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Characters in this entry

怵
chù · fear, be afraid; shy, timid
目
mù · eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109
驚
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心
xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
惊
jīng · frighten, surprise, startle
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–1 · chu4 mu4 jing1 xin1

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

zeot1 muk6 ging1 sam1

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

怵目驚心 · chu4 mu4 jing1 xin1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 41,777
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record怵目驚心 怵目惊心 [chu4 mu4 jing1 xin1] /lit. shocks the eye, astonishes the heart (idiom); shocking/horrible to see/a ghastly sight/also written 觸目驚心|触目惊心/