每天成语
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煞费苦心

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: shà fèi kǔ xīn
  • English Translation: To take great pains (racking one's brains)
  • Idiom Composition: 「煞」（Extremely or very (used here as an intensifier for the degree of effort).）＋「费」（To spend, consume, or use up (referring to the expenditure of energy or resources).）＋「苦」（Painstaking, bitter, or hard (representing the difficulty or hardship involved).）＋「心」（Heart or mind (the seat of thought, intention, and mental energy).）
  • Meaning: To expend an enormous amount of mental effort, care, and thought to achieve a specific goal. It emphasizes the 'labor of the mind'—thinking deeply, worrying, and devising intricate ways to solve a problem or create something.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「煞费苦心」 contains the following nuances:

  • Mental vs. Physical Labor: Unlike idioms that describe physical toil, 煞费苦心 (shà fèi kǔ xīn) specifically emphasizes mental strain, worrying, and the 'bitterness' of deep thinking.
  • Neutral Nuance: The idiom itself is neutral. Its 'temperature' changes based on the goal: it is a compliment when applied to education or research, but a criticism when applied to plotting or deception.
  • The Role of 'Sha' (煞): In this context, 煞 (shà) functions as a colloquial adverb meaning 'extremely.' It signals that the effort is not just ordinary, but extraordinary.

3. Usage

「煞费苦心」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Education and Upbringing (Positive): Used to praise parents or teachers who put deep thought and care into a child's development.
    • Example:「为了让孩子养成良好的习惯，父母可谓煞费苦心。」
      （In order to help their child develop good habits, the parents have clearly taken great pains.)
  • Problem Solving and Creation (Neutral/Positive): Describes the process of racking one's brains to solve a difficult problem or create a work of art.
    • Example:「设计师煞费苦心，终于完成了这件独一无二的作品。」
      （The designer racked their brains and finally completed this unique piece of work.)
  • Scheming and Deception (Negative): Used sarcastically to describe the effort someone puts into lying or hiding the truth.
    • Example:「他煞费苦心编造的谎言，结果还是被识破了。」
      （The lie he took such pains to fabricate was eventually seen through anyway.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 主办方煞费苦心，把会场布置得既温馨又隆重。
    （The organizers went to great trouble to decorate the venue so that it felt both warm and grand.）
  2. 这篇论文的数据收集工作让他煞费苦心。
    （The data collection for this thesis required immense effort on his part.）
  3. 为了给女朋友一个惊喜，他煞费苦心地策划了一场求婚仪式。
    （To give his girlfriend a surprise, he painstakingly planned a proposal ceremony.）
  4. 你不必煞费苦心地去讨好每个人。
    （You don't need to go out of your way to please everyone.）
  5. 虽然他煞费苦心想要挽回局面，但大势已去。
    （Although he tried desperately to turn the tide, the situation was already beyond saving.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • This idiom appears in late Qing Dynasty literature, such as the novel China's Current State (中国现在记). It is a relatively modern idiom compared to those originating from ancient classics.
  • The character 煞 (shà) originally refers to an 'evil spirit' or 'to kill,' but in modern vernacular Chinese, it is frequently used as an intensifier for adjectives or verbs, similar to how 'deadly' or 'wicked' might be used in English slang to mean 'very.'
  • In modern usage, it is often paired with the verb 可谓 (kě wèi), meaning 'one could say,' to emphasize the observer's recognition of the effort: 可谓煞费苦心 (kě wèi shà fèi kǔ xīn).

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

煞费苦心 (shà fèi kǔ xīn) describes the act of putting immense thought and effort into a task. The character 煞 (shà) acts as an intensifier meaning 'extremely.' This idiom is highly versatile: it can be used to praise the dedication of a teacher or artist, or it can be used sarcastically to describe the desperate efforts of someone trying to cover up a lie or plot a scheme.

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Level 1

Idiom Essay

shà fèi kǔ xīn
煞费苦心
Go to Great Lengths
hěn很duō多shí hòu时候，wǒ men我们kàn dào看到yī jiàn一件shì qíng事情wán chéng完成dé得hěn很piào liàng漂亮，huì会jué de觉得hěn很qīng sōng轻松、hěn很zì rán自然。

Many times, when we see something completed beautifully, it seems easy and natural.

dàn但qí shí其实，wèi le为了zhè ge这个kàn qǐ lái看起来“zì rán自然”de的jié guǒ结果，bèi hòu背后kě néng可能cáng藏zhe着hěn duō很多kàn bú jiàn看不见de的sī kǎo思考hé和ān pái安排。

But in fact, behind a result that looks “natural,” there may be a great deal of unseen thought and planning.

zhōng wén中文lǐ里，yǒu有yí gè一个chéng yǔ成语yòng lái用来xíng róng形容zhè zhǒng这种fèi jìn xīn sī费尽心思de的zhuàng tài状态，jiào叫“shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心”。

In Chinese, there is an idiom used to describe this state of putting immense thought into something: “煞费苦心”.

zhè ge这个cí词de的yǔ qì语气hěn很zhòng重。

This expression has a strong tone.

“shā煞”，zài在zhè lǐ这里shì是“jí dù极度”、“fēi cháng非常”de的yì si意思；ér而“kǔ xīn苦心”，zhǐ指de的shì是wèi le为了mǒu某jiàn shì件事fǎn fù反复sī kǎo思考、xiǎng想jǐn尽bàn fǎ办法suǒ所huā花de的xīn sī心思。

Here, “煞” means “extremely” or “very,” while “苦心” refers to the thought and effort spent repeatedly thinking things over and trying every possible way to accomplish something.

hé qǐ lái合起来，“shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心”jiù shì就是wèi le为了dá dào达到mǒu gè某个mù dì目的，huò zhě或者jiě jué解决mǒu gè某个nán tí难题，huā fèi花费le了hěn很duō多xīn sī心思hé和jīng lì精力。

Together, “煞费苦心” means spending a great deal of thought and energy to achieve a goal or solve a difficult problem.

tā它hé和pǔ tōng普通de的“nǔ lì努力”bù不tài太yī yàng一样。

It is somewhat different from ordinary “effort.”

“nǔ lì努力”kě yǐ可以tǐ xiàn体现zài在hěn很duō fāng miàn多方面，ér而“shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心”gèng更qiáng diào强调dòng nǎo jīn动脑筋、xiǎng想bàn fǎ办法，cháng cháng常常dài yǒu带有fǎn fù反复zhuó mó琢磨、fèi jìn xīn sī费尽心思de的gǎn jué感觉。

“Effort” can show up in many areas, whereas “煞费苦心” places more emphasis on using one’s mind and finding solutions, often suggesting careful repeated consideration and exhaustive thought.

shēng huó生活lǐ里，wǒ men我们cháng常zài在shén me什么dì fāng地方jiàn dào见到tā它ne呢？

Where might we commonly encounter it in daily life?

yě xǔ也许shì是yī duì一对fù mǔ父母。

Perhaps in a pair of parents.

wèi le为了ràng让bù不ài爱chī吃shū cài蔬菜de的hái zi孩子chī吃dé得gèng更yǒu有yíng yǎng营养，tā men他们bǎ把shū cài蔬菜qiè suì切碎、cáng藏zài在ròu wán肉丸lǐ里，huò zhě或者zuò做chéng成kě ài可爱de的xíng zhuàng形状。

To help a child who dislikes vegetables eat more nutritiously, they chop the vegetables finely and hide them in meatballs, or make them into cute shapes.

hái zi孩子chī吃dé得hěn很kāi xīn开心，wán quán完全bù不zhī dào知道fù mǔ父母wèi le为了zhè dùn这顿fàn饭yǒu有duō me多么shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心。

The child eats happily, completely unaware of how much 煞费苦心 the parents put into this meal.

yě xǔ也许shì是yī wèi一位shè jì shī设计师。

Perhaps in a designer.

wèi le为了ràng让yí gè一个àn niǔ按钮de的wèi zhì位置yòng用qǐ lái起来gèng更shùn shǒu顺手yì diǎn一点，tā他kě néng可能xiū gǎi修改le了jǐ shí几十gè个fāng àn方案，fǎn fù反复bǐ jiào比较měi每yí gè一个xì jié细节。

To make the placement of a button a little more convenient to use, the designer may revise dozens of versions and compare every detail again and again.

shèn zhì甚至shì是wèi le为了sòng送péng yǒu朋友yī fèn一份lǐ wù礼物。

Or even when giving a friend a gift.

nǐ你bù xiǎng不想suí biàn随便mǎi买yī yàng一样dōng xī东西，ér shì而是huí yì回忆tā他guò qù过去shuō说guò过de的huà话，guān chá观察tā他de的xǐ hào喜好，pǎo跑le了hěn很duō多dì fāng地方，zhǐ只wèi le为了zhǎo dào找到yī fèn一份zhēn zhèng真正shì hé适合tā他de的lǐ wù礼物。

Instead of casually buying something, you recall what your friend has said before, observe their preferences, and visit many places, all to find a gift that truly suits them.

dāng rán当然，“shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心”bìng并bù不yí dìng一定dōu都shì是wèi le为了bié rén别人。

Of course, “煞费苦心” is not necessarily for someone else.

yí gè一个rén人wèi le为了wán chéng完成yí gè一个fù zá复杂de的jì huà计划，kě néng可能shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心；wèi le为了shuō fú说服bié rén别人jiē shòu接受zì jǐ自己de的xiǎng fǎ想法，yě也kě néng可能shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心。

A person may 煞费苦心 to complete a complicated plan, or to persuade others to accept their ideas.

yǒu shí hòu有时候，zhè ge这个cí词shèn zhì甚至huì会dài带yì diǎn一点fěng cì讽刺yì wèi意味，bǐ rú比如yí gè一个rén人wèi le为了dá dào达到bìng bù zhí dé并不值得de的mù dì目的，fèi费le了hěn duō很多xīn sī心思，wǒ men我们yě也kě yǐ可以shuō说tā他“shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心”。

Sometimes, this expression can even carry a slightly sarcastic tone. For example, if someone puts a great deal of thought into achieving an unworthy goal, we can also say that they “煞费苦心”.

suǒ yǐ所以，zhè ge这个chéng yǔ成语qiáng diào强调de的bìng并bú shì不是dān chún单纯de的máng lù忙碌，ér shì而是“wèi le为了mǒu某jiàn shì件事fèi费le了hěn duō很多xīn sī心思”。

So, this idiom emphasizes not simply being busy, but “putting a great deal of thought into something.”

xià cì下次，dāng当nǐ你fā xiàn发现mǒu gè某个xì jié细节bèi被ān pái安排dé得tè bié特别zhōu dào周到，huò zhě或者mǒu gè某个nán tí难题bèi被qiǎo miào巧妙dì地jiě jué解决shí时，yě xǔ也许nǐ你kě yǐ可以gǎn tàn感叹yī jù一句：wèi le为了zuò dào做到zhè yì diǎn这一点，tā他yí dìng一定shà fèi kǔ xīn煞费苦心。

Next time you notice that a detail has been arranged especially thoughtfully, or that a difficult problem has been solved cleverly, you might say: To achieve this, they must have 煞费苦心.

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