DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

怎一個愁字了得

简怎一个愁字了得 · 繁怎一個愁字了得

Mandarin · pinyin zěn yī gè chóu zì liǎo dé

(last line of the poem 聲聲慢 Shēng shēng Màn by Song poet Li Qingzhao 李清照 Lǐ Qīng zhào)
how can it be expressed in one word, "sorrow"?
how can words express such sadness?

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

怎: zěn · what? why? how?
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
個: gè · numerary adjunct, piece; single
愁: chóu · anxiety; to worry about, be anxious
字: zì · letter, character, word
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
个: gè · numerary adjunct, piece; single

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–1–4–2–4–3–2 · zen3 yi1 ge4 chou2 zi4 liao3 de2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

8character links1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

怎一個愁字了得 · find source passages ↗ · 怎一个愁字了得 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗