抓耳撓腮 zhuā ěr náo sāi

anxious and fidgety; scratch head in worry

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to tweak one's ears and scratch one's cheeks (as an expression of anxiety, delight, frustration etc) (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
抓 zhuā HSK 5
to grab; to catch; to arrest
耳 ěr HSK 3
ear; handle (archaeology)
撓 náo
to scratch; to yield; to thwart
腮 sāi
cheek; variant of 腮sāi