DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

怵目驚心

简怵目惊心 · 繁怵目驚心

Mandarin · pinyin chù mù jīng xīn

lit. shocks the eye, astonishes the heart (idiom); shocking
horrible to see
a ghastly sight
also written 觸目驚心

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

怵: chù · fear, be afraid; shy, timid
目: mù · eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109
驚: Look up this written character
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.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4–1–1 · chu4 mu4 jing1 xin1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links1same-tone record

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.

怵目驚心 · find source passages ↗ · 怵目惊心 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗