触目惊心
chù mù jīng xīn · HSK 7
horrible to see
👁️ touch + eye + startle + heart = what hits your eyes shocks your core
Each character spells the reaction: 触 touch, 目 eye, 惊 startle, 心 heart. Something so awful that the moment it reaches your eyes, your heart jolts.
惊 — horse 马 + respect 敬 (phonetic)
Originally written 驚 with 馬 (horse) as the meaning component and 敬 as the phonetic, depicting a horse startled or frightened. The simplified form 惊 replaces 馬 with 忄 (heart radical), shifting the imagery to a startled mind. The core meaning is to be alarmed, surprised, or shocked.
心 — pictograph of a heart with chambers and aorta
心 is a pictograph showing a stylized heart, with strokes representing the organ's chambers and the aorta at the top. Originally meaning the physical heart, it broadened to cover mind, feelings, and intentions, since ancient Chinese thought located thinking and emotion in the heart.