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气喘吁吁

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

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: qì chuǎn xū xū
  • English Translation: Panting heavily (out of breath)
  • Idiom Composition: 「气」（Breath or air）＋「喘」（To gasp, pant, or breathe hurriedly）＋「吁吁」（An onomatopoeic reduplication representing the sound of heavy breathing）
  • Meaning: An idiom describing the state of breathing heavily or gasping for air due to intense physical exertion, extreme fatigue, or rushing.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「气喘吁吁」 contains the following nuances:

  • Physical State Description: It is used to objectively describe the physical state of being winded after activities like running or lifting heavy objects.
  • Onomatopoeic Elements: The characters 吁吁 (xū xū) represent the sound of exhaling, which adds an auditory dimension to the visual image of someone struggling for air.

3. Usage

「气喘吁吁」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • After intense exercise: The most common usage, describing the immediate state after running long distances or climbing stairs quickly.
    • Example:「他一口气跑到了山顶，累得气喘吁吁。」
      （He ran to the top of the mountain in one go and was panting heavily from exhaustion.)
  • In a rush: Describes a mix of physical fatigue and urgency, such as when someone runs to avoid being late.
    • Example:「因为快迟到了，她气喘吁吁地冲进了教室。」
      （Because she was almost late, she rushed into the classroom out of breath.)
  • Physical frailty: Describes the elderly or the ill who become short of breath after minimal movement, often carrying a nuance of sympathy.
    • Example:「奶奶才走了几步路就开始气喘吁吁了。」
      （Grandmother started gasping for breath after walking only a few steps.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 搬完这些重物，工人们个个气喘吁吁，汗流浃背。
    （After carrying these heavy items, the workers were all panting heavily and soaked in sweat.）
  2. 送信的人气喘吁吁地把急件交到了我手里。
    （The messenger handed me the urgent document while huffing and puffing.）
  3. 看着父亲气喘吁吁的样子，我不禁感到一阵心酸。
    （Seeing my father gasping for air, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.）
  4. 虽然累得气喘吁吁，但他脸上依然挂着笑容。
    （Although he was out of breath from exhaustion, a smile still lingered on his face.）
  5. 为了赶上最后一班车，我们一路跑得气喘吁吁。
    （To catch the last bus, we kept running until we were panting heavily.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • The idiom appears in classic Ming Dynasty literature, such as the short story collection Stories to Awaken the World (醒世恒言) and the novel Investiture of the Gods (封神演义).
  • While generally a neutral descriptive term, the context can shift its nuance to imply 'hard work and effort' (positive) or 'physical weakness and frailty' (sympathetic/negative).
  • The structure uses a reduplicated ending 吁吁 (xū xū). In Chinese, repeating characters like this is a common way to emphasize the vividness of a sound or state, similar to idioms like 小心翼翼 (xiǎo xīn yì yì) for being extremely cautious.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

气喘吁吁 (qì chuǎn xū xū) is a vivid expression used to describe someone who is "huffing and puffing." It is common in both daily speech and literature to provide an auditory and visual image of heavy breathing. It is frequently used with the resultative complement 累得 (lèi de), meaning "so tired that one is..."

Idiom Essay

qì chuǎn xū xū
气喘吁吁
Out of Breath
xiǎng xiàng想象yī xià一下zhè yàng这样de的shí kè时刻：nǐ你pīn mìng拼命bēn pǎo奔跑，wèi le为了gǎn shàng赶上zuì hòu最后yī bān一班gōng jiāo chē公交车；huò zhě或者nǐ你tí提zhe着zhòng wù重物，yì kǒu qì一口气pá爬shàng上le了liù lóu六楼。

Imagine a moment like this: you are running desperately to catch the last bus, or you are carrying heavy objects and climb up to the sixth floor in one go.

dāng当nǐ你zhōng yú终于tíng xià lái停下来de的shí hòu时候，nǐ你shèn zhì甚至shuō bù chū说不出yī jù一句wán zhěng完整de的huà话。

When you finally stop, you cannot even say a complete sentence.

nǐ你de的xiōng kǒu胸口zài在qǐ fú起伏，ěr biān耳边zhǐ néng只能tīng dào听到zì jǐ自己jí cù急促de的hū xī呼吸shēng声。

Your chest is heaving, and all you can hear in your ears is the sound of your own rapid breathing.

zhōng wén中文lǐ里，yǒu有yí gè一个chéng yǔ成语fēi cháng非常shēng dòng生动dì地huán yuán还原le了zhè ge这个zhuàng tài状态，jiào zuò叫做“qì chuǎn xū xū气喘吁吁”。

In Chinese, there is an idiom that vividly restores this state, called 气喘吁吁.

zhè ge这个cí词de的qián前bàn半bù fèn部分“qì chuǎn气喘”，hěn很hǎo好lǐ jiě理解，jiù shì就是hū xī呼吸jí cù急促；dàn但zhè ge这个chéng yǔ成语de的líng hún灵魂，qí shí其实zài在hòu后bàn半bù fèn部分——“xū xū吁吁”。

The first half of this word, 气喘, is easy to understand, meaning rapid breathing; but the soul of this idiom is actually in the second half—吁吁.

zhè这shì是yī zhǒng一种“xiàng shēng cí象声词”，tā它mó fǎng模仿de的zhèng shì正是nà zhǒng那种dà kǒu大口chū qì出气、qì xī气息wèi dìng未定de的shēng yīn声音。

This is an onomatopoeia that imitates the sound of heavy breathing and unsettled breath.

dú读zhè ge这个cí词de的shí hòu时候，nǐ你fǎng fú仿佛néng能zhí jiē直接tīng dào听到nà ge那个rén人chén zhòng沉重de的hū xī呼吸。

When reading this word, it is as if you can directly hear that person's heavy breathing.

wǒ men我们tōng cháng通常yòng用tā它lái来xíng róng形容yí gè一个rén人shēn tǐ身体láo lèi劳累dào到le了jí diǎn极点。

We usually use it to describe a person who is physically exhausted to the extreme.

dàn但gèng更yǒu yì si有意思de的shì是，zhè ge这个cí词wǎng wǎng往往dài带zhe着yī zhǒng一种“jí qiè gǎn急切感”。

But what is more interesting is that this word often carries a sense of urgency.

wǒ men我们zài在shén me shí hòu什么时候huì会qì chuǎn xū xū气喘吁吁？

When do we become 气喘吁吁?

tōng cháng通常shì是yīn wèi因为wǒ men我们bù néng不能màn慢，yě也bù xiǎng不想màn慢。

Usually because we cannot slow down, and we do not want to slow down.

bǐ rú比如，yí gè一个sòng xìn送信de的rén人，wèi le为了bǎ把zhòng yào重要de的xiāo xī消息zǎo diǎn早点sòng dào送到，pǎo跑dé得mǎn tóu dà hán满头大汗；huò zhě或者dāng当nǐ你tīng shuō听说jiā rén家人bìng病le了，bù gù yī qiè不顾一切dì地chōng冲dào到yī yuàn医院。

For example, a messenger runs until they are sweating profusely to deliver important news early, or when you hear that a family member is ill, you rush to the hospital regardless of everything.

zài在zhè xiē这些chǎng jǐng场景lǐ里，“qì chuǎn xū xū气喘吁吁”bù jǐn jǐn不仅仅shì是zài在miáo xiě描写shēn tǐ身体de的pí bèi疲惫，tā它gèng更àn shì暗示zhe着yī zhǒng一种wèi le为了mǒu某gè个mù biāo目标ér而quán lì yǐ fù全力以赴de的guò chéng过程。

In these scenes, 气喘吁吁 is not just describing physical fatigue; it further implies a process of going all out for a certain goal.

tā它dǎ pò打破le了píng shí平时de的cóng róng从容hé和yōu yǎ优雅，bǎ把yí gè一个rén人de的nǔ lì努力，shèn zhì甚至shì是nà zhǒng那种gù bù shàng顾不上xíng xiàng形象de的láng bèi狼狈，zhēn shí真实dì地zhǎn xiàn展现le了chū lái出来。

It breaks the usual calmness and elegance, truly showing a person's effort, and even that kind of awkwardness where one cannot care about their image.

suǒ yǐ所以，xià cì下次dāng当nǐ你kàn dào看到yǒu rén有人“qì chuǎn xū xū气喘吁吁”dì地chū xiàn出现zài在nǐ你miàn qián面前，bú yào不要zhǐ只kàn dào看到tā他de的lèi累。

So, next time you see someone appearing 气喘吁吁 in front of you, do not just see their tiredness.

nǐ你yě xǔ也许yīng gāi应该yì shí dào意识到，tā他gāng cái刚才yí dìng一定shì是jīng lì经历le了yī duàn一段fēi cháng非常jí qiè急切、yě也fēi cháng非常yòng lì用力de的lù chéng路程，cái才lái dào来到le了zhè lǐ这里。

You should perhaps realize that they must have just gone through a very urgent and very strenuous journey to get here.

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