焦头烂额 jiāo tóu làn é

fig. hard-pressed

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 16827th word

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. hard-pressed
  2. 2. under pressure (from a heavy workload, creditors etc)
  3. 3. lit. badly burned about the head (from trying to put out a fire) (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
焦 jiāo HSK 6
worried; anxious; burnt
头 tóu HSK 3
head; the top; end
烂 làn HSK 5
rotten; bad; crappy
额 é HSK 6
forehead; specified number or amount