(bēi shāng) - sad, sorrowful in Mandarin
bēishāngTraditional: 悲傷
Translation
sad, sorrowful
Word origin
悲 (bēi, grief) is 心 (heart) under 非 (fēi, phonetic); 伤 (shāng) means wound. Together, a wounded heart.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 悲 (bēi, grief) + 伤 (shāng, wound)
Stroke order
悲
伤
Examples
。
This is a sad story.
。
He was deeply saddened after hearing the news.
。
Her eyes were full of sorrow.
。
This music makes people feel sad.
。
The sadness will slowly pass.
悲伤 (bēi shāng) is deep sadness: grief, sorrow, the weight left by a death or a real loss. It works as an adjective and, in written style, as a noun for the feeling itself.
Register is the thing to get right. English uses "sad" for a rained-off picnic and for a funeral, but Chinese does not spread one word that far. Day to day you want 难过 (nán guò) or 伤心 (shāng xīn). Reaching for 悲伤 because your coffee went cold sounds theatrical, the way "I am stricken with grief" would in English.
You will meet it constantly in song lyrics, novels and subtitles, which is why it earns a page well before most emotion words of the same frequency.
Where this fits
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悲伤: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "悲伤" (sad, sorrowful): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 49.