心急如焚

• Pinyin: xīn jí rú fén
• Desglose de hanzi: 心 = heart; 急 = 心 + 刍 (heart under urgency); 如 = 女 + 口 (as/like); 焚 = 林 + 火 (forest on fire — to incinerate)

Significado

estar consumido por la angustia

A vivid four-character idiom (成语). Used to describe an extreme state of anxiety or impatience when one urgently wants something to happen or resolve. The simile compares the anxious heart to something burning (焚 = to burn/incinerate).

Ejemplos

1. 孩子失踪了好几个小时，父母心急如焚，四处寻找，不停地向路人询问。
2. 项目截止日期临近，而进展却严重滞后，项目经理心急如焚，连夜召集团队开会。
3. 等待手术结果的那几个小时，家属们心急如焚，在走廊里来回踱步。

Guía de uso

Contexto: literature, journalism, everyday, crisis

Tono: negative

Correcto

• 眼看洪水即将漫过堤坝，救援队员心急如焚，争分夺秒地加固防线。(Watching the floodwater about to breach the embankment, the rescue team members were burning with anxiety, racing against time to reinforce the defensive line.)
• 她独自坐在急诊室外，心急如焚地等待着丈夫的手术结果，双手不停地颤抖。(She sat alone outside the emergency room, burning with anxiety as she waited for news of her husband's surgery, her hands trembling incessantly.)

Incorrecto

• 我心急如焚地吃饭 — 心急如焚 describes extreme anxiety in urgent or distressing situations, not mere impatience with routine activities; use 迫不及待 for eagerness

Origen e historia

心急 (anxious/impatient heart) + 如 (like/as) + 焚 (to burn) — an ancient simile: the heart is as anxious as if it were burning

Contexto cultural

Generación: All ages

Contexto social: Universal