心 如 刀 绞

xīn rú dāo jiǎodictionary entry

to feel a pain like a knife being twisted in one's heart (idiom)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-848b27acbf351176. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

心如刀絞心如刀绞 [xin1 ru2 dao1 jiao3] /to feel a pain like a knife being twisted in one's heart (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 心如刀絞

心
xīn
heart / mind / intention / center / core / CL:顆|颗[kē],個|个[gè]
如
rú
as / as if / such as
刀
dāo
knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass (CL:把[bǎ]) / (slang) (loanword) dollar / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs / (Internet slang) to bargain / to ask for a small discount (esp. on second-hand marketplaces) / (Internet slang) to knife (sb) (often used hyperbolically, as in 想刀他[xiǎng dāo tā] "I could kill him!")
Dāo
surname Dao
绞
jiǎo
to twist (strands into a thread) / to entangle / to wring / to hang (by the neck) / to turn / to wind / classifier for skeins of yarn

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.