shāngxīn: 伤心 - Sad, Heartbroken, Grieved

• Keywords: shangxin, shāngxīn, 伤心, sad in Chinese, heartbroken in Chinese, how to say sad in Mandarin, Chinese word for grieved, 伤心 vs 难过, shāngxīn meaning, Chinese emotions
• Summary for Search Engines: Learn the meaning of 伤心 (shāngxīn), the common Chinese word for “sad” or “heartbroken.” This guide breaks down its characters, cultural context, and practical usage with 10+ example sentences. Understand the crucial difference between 伤心 (shāngxīn) and 难过 (nánguò) to express sadness in Mandarin like a native.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): shāng xīn
• Part of Speech: Stative Verb / Adjective
• HSK Level: HSK 3
• Concise Definition: To be sad, heartbroken, or emotionally hurt.
• In a Nutshell: 伤心 (shāngxīn) describes a deep, personal sadness that feels like an emotional wound. It’s more than just feeling down; it implies that your feelings have been hurt, often by someone's actions or a disappointing event. It’s the feeling you get when a friend betrays you, you fail an important exam, or a relationship ends.

• 伤 (shāng): This character means “to injure,” “to wound,” or “to harm.” The radical on the left, 亻, is the “person” radical, often indicating actions related to people.
• 心 (xīn): This character means “heart,” but it also refers to the “mind” or the center of one's feelings and thoughts. It is a pictogram, originally drawn to look like a human heart.
• Combined Meaning: The characters literally combine to mean “to injure the heart.” This is a beautifully direct and visceral metaphor for emotional pain. When you feel 伤心, you are describing a sadness that is so personal it feels like a physical injury to your core.

In Chinese culture, emotional expression can sometimes be more reserved compared to the West. The term 伤心 is powerful because it validates a deep, internal feeling of hurt without necessarily requiring dramatic, outward displays of emotion. It's a way to express significant emotional pain respectfully. A key cultural application of 伤心 is in the context of relationships and expectations, especially within the family. For example, a parent might say a child's rebellious behavior “makes them 伤心.” This carries a heavy weight, implying not just sadness but also deep disappointment and a feeling of being let down by a loved one. This connects to the value of filial piety (孝, xiào), where causing one's parents emotional distress is a serious matter. Comparison to “Sad” in English: While “sad” in English is a general-purpose word, 伤心 is more specific. You can be “sad” that it's raining, but you wouldn't typically use 伤心 for such an impersonal reason. 伤心 is closer to “heartbroken” or “grieved,” but it's used more frequently and in a slightly broader range of personal situations than the English “heartbroken,” which is often reserved for romantic breakups or major tragedies. 伤心 is the default term for any deep, personal emotional hurt.

伤心 is a very common word used in everyday life, from casual conversations to social media posts.

• Personal Relationships: This is the most common context. It's used to describe feelings after a fight with a partner, a betrayal by a friend, or a breakup.
• Disappointment: It's frequently used to express sadness over personal failures, like not getting into a desired school or failing an important test.
• Expressing Empathy: You can use it to describe someone else's state: “She looks very sad” (她看起来很伤心).
• Social Media: It's common to see posts on WeChat or Weibo like “今天好伤心” (I'm so sad today) to share personal feelings with friends.

Its connotation is always negative and conveys a genuine sense of emotional pain. It's informal enough for daily conversation but serious enough to describe deep grief.

• Example 1:
• Chinese: 分手后，她非常伤心。
• Pinyin: Fēnshǒu hòu, tā fēicháng shāngxīn.
• English: After the breakup, she was extremely sad/heartbroken.
• Analysis: This is a classic use of 伤心, referring to the deep emotional pain from the end of a romantic relationship.
• Example 2:
• Chinese: 你说的话让我很伤心。
• Pinyin: Nǐ shuō de huà ràng wǒ hěn shāngxīn.
• English: The words you said made me very sad/hurt.
• Analysis: This highlights the “injury” aspect of 伤心. The sadness is a direct result of being emotionally hurt by someone else.
• Example 3:
• Chinese: 看到流浪猫在雨中，我感到有点伤心。
• Pinyin: Kàndào liúlàng māo zài yǔzhōng, wǒ gǎndào yǒudiǎn shāngxīn.
• English: Seeing the stray cat in the rain, I felt a little sad.
• Analysis: This shows empathy. The sadness is for another creature's suffering. While 难过 could also be used here, 伤心 implies a deeper, more personal emotional reaction.
• Example 4:
• Chinese: 别为这点小事伤心了。
• Pinyin: Bié wèi zhè diǎn xiǎoshì shāngxīn le.
• English: Don't be sad over such a small thing.
• Analysis: This is a common phrase used to comfort someone, asking them not to let something minor “injure their heart.”
• Example 5:
• Chinese: 考试没考好，他伤心地哭了。
• Pinyin: Kǎoshì méi kǎo hǎo, tā shāngxīn de kū le.
• English: He didn't do well on the exam and cried sadly.
• Analysis: The particle 地 (de) connects the state of being 伤心 to the action of crying, showing the emotion caused the action.
• Example 6:
• Chinese: 最让我伤心的是，他甚至没有道歉。
• Pinyin: Zuì ràng wǒ shāngxīn de shì, tā shènzhì méiyǒu dàoqiàn.
• English: The thing that made me the most heartbroken was that he didn't even apologize.
• Analysis: This emphasizes the source of the emotional hurt, focusing on a specific action (or lack thereof).
• Example 7:
• Chinese: 他的宠物狗去世了，难怪他这么伤心。
• Pinyin: Tā de chǒngwù gǒu qùshì le, nánguài tā zhème shāngxīn.
• English: His pet dog passed away, no wonder he's so grieved.
• Analysis: This demonstrates using 伤心 for grief over the loss of a loved one, including a pet.
• Example 8:
• Chinese: 这是一个令人伤心的故事。
• Pinyin: Zhè shì yí ge lìng rén shāngxīn de gùshi.
• English: This is a sad/heartbreaking story.
• Analysis: Here, 伤心 is used to describe an external thing (a story) that evokes feelings of sadness in people. “令人 (lìng rén)” means “to make people feel.”
• Example 9:
• Chinese: 儿子不听话，父母很伤心。
• Pinyin: Érzi bù tīnghuà, fùmǔ hěn shāngxīn.
• English: The son is disobedient, and the parents are very hurt/sad.
• Analysis: This is a perfect example of the cultural context of filial piety. The parents' sadness is tied to disappointment in their child's behavior.
• Example 10:
• Chinese: 如果你不想让他伤心，就去跟他谈谈。
• Pinyin: Rúguǒ nǐ bù xiǎng ràng tā shāngxīn, jiù qù gēn tā tántan.
• English: If you don't want to hurt his feelings, you should go talk to him.
• Analysis: This shows 伤心 used proactively, as a negative outcome to be avoided.

The most common point of confusion for learners is the difference between 伤心 (shāngxīn) and 难过 (nánguò). Both can be translated as “sad.”

• 伤心 (shāngxīn) - Heart-Wounded Sadness:
  • Core Idea: Deeper, more personal hurt. Implies an emotional “injury,” often caused by people or events you care about.
  • Focus: Internal feeling of being hurt, disappointment, grief.
  • Example: Your best friend lies to you. → 你会很伤心。 (You will be very hurt/sad).
• 难过 (nánguò) - General Sadness / Feeling Bad:
  • Core Idea: A more general and broader term for sadness, unhappiness, or feeling bad. It can be caused by external, impersonal events. It can also mean “hard to get through” or physical discomfort.
  • Focus: A general state of unhappiness.
  • Example: You watch a sad movie. → 你会很难过。 (You will be very sad). Using 伤心 here would sound a bit too strong, unless the movie deeply affected you personally.

Common Mistake: Using 伤心 for a minor, impersonal inconvenience.

• Incorrect: 今天下雨了，我很伤心。 (Jīntiān xià yǔ le, wǒ hěn shāngxīn.)
• Why it's wrong: This literally means “It rained today, I am heartbroken.” It's far too dramatic. The rain is an impersonal event that doesn't “injure your heart.”
• Correct: 今天下雨了，我有点难过。 (Jīntiān xià yǔ le, wǒ yǒudiǎn nánguò.)
• Translation: “It rained today, I'm a bit sad/bummed out.” This is a much more natural and appropriate expression for minor unhappiness.

Rule of Thumb: If the sadness comes from being personally let down, disappointed, or grieved, use 伤心. If it's a more general feeling of being down, unhappy, or sorry about something, use 难过.

• 难过 (nánguò) - The most common synonym; a more general term for “sad” or “feeling bad.” Less intense than 伤心.
• 悲伤 (bēishāng) - A more formal and literary word for “grieved” or “sorrowful.” You would see this in literature or news reports about tragedies, but it's less common in casual speech.
• 失望 (shīwàng) - “Disappointed.” This is often the *cause* of feeling 伤心. When someone's actions make you失望, you then feel 伤心.
• 心碎 (xīnsuì) - Literally “heart-shattered.” This is the most direct equivalent of “heartbroken” and is even more intense and dramatic than 伤心.
• 痛苦 (tòngkǔ) - “Pain” or “suffering.” This is a very strong term that can refer to deep mental anguish or physical pain. It's more about agony than sadness.
• 郁闷 (yùmèn) - “Gloomy,” “depressed,” “melancholy.” This describes a feeling of being down, listless, and having pent-up frustration. It's less about a sharp injury and more about a persistent, gloomy mood.
• 安慰 (ānwèi) - To “comfort” or “console.” This is the action you perform for someone who is feeling 伤心.
• 开心 (kāixīn) - “Happy,” “joyful.” The direct antonym of 伤心. It literally means “to open the heart.”