牵挂

• Pinyin: qiān guà
• Hanzi breakdown: 牵 = 牛 (ox) + 玄 (rope) (lead/pull along); 挂 = 手 (hand) + 卦 (trigram/hang) (hang/attach)

Meaning

To worry about; to miss and feel concern for. A lasting emotional concern or longing for someone who is absent or in a difficult situation.

A warm, emotionally resonant term for the persistent concern one feels for loved ones who are far away or facing hardship. More tender and personal than 担心 (worry). Frequently used in literary, lyrical, and personal contexts. Connotes deep emotional attachment.

Examples

1. 远在异乡工作的游子，无论多忙，心中总有一份对故乡父母的深深牵挂。 No matter how busy they are, people working far from home always carry a deep concern for their parents back in their hometown.
2. 她临行前最放心不下的，是年迈的双亲和还在读小学的小儿子，这份牵挂伴随了她整整三年。 Before she left, what she worried about most was her elderly parents and her youngest son still in elementary school—and that concern stayed with her for three full years.
3. 战地记者在烽火连天的前线采访，最令他们牵挂的，是家中翘首以盼的妻儿与年迈的父母。 As war correspondents report from front lines amid constant fighting, what they worry about most is the wife and children waiting at home, and their aging parents.

Usage Guide

Context: family, separation, love, literary

Tone: tender

Do Say

• 父亲虽然嘴上不说，但眼神里流露出的，是对独自在外闯荡的女儿深沉而内敛的牵挂。(Though the father said nothing, what showed in his eyes was a deep and restrained concern for his daughter, making her way alone in the world.)
• 住院期间最令她牵挂的，是家中年幼的孩子是否吃饱穿暖、是否适应了没有妈妈陪伴的日子。(What concerned her most during her hospitalisation was whether her young child at home was eating and dressing warmly, and whether the child was adjusting to days without a mother present.)

Don't Say

• 我牵挂这个项目的进度 — 牵挂 is reserved for deep emotional concern for people, especially loved ones; for project concerns use 关注/担心/在意

Origin & History

牵 (pull/draw) + 挂 (hang/attach) — to be pulled along and hooked; to have one's heart attached to someone at a distance

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal