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觸目驚心

简触目惊心 · 繁觸目驚心

Mandarin · pinyin chù mù jīng xīn

lit. shocks the eye, astonishes the heart (idiom); shocking
horrible to see
a ghastly sight

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Characters in this entry

觸: Look up this written character
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)
触: chù · butt, ram, gore; touch
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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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.

觸目驚心 · find source passages ↗ · 触目惊心 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zuk1 muk6 ging1 sam1

Cantonese word readings for 觸目驚心. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) frightening; bloodcurdling; shocking; ghastly

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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