煞费苦心 shà fèi kǔ xīn

to take a lot of trouble (idiom); painstaking

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 33421st word

Definitions

  1. 1. to take a lot of trouble (idiom); painstaking
  2. 2. at the cost of a lot of effort

Characters

Character Meaning
煞 shà
variant of 殺shā; to tighten; to squeeze
费 fèi HSK 4
to cost; to spend; fee
苦 kǔ HSK 4
bitter; to suffer; hardship
心 xīn HSK 3
heart; mind; intention