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断腸 (だんちょう, danchou) Japanese meaning: heartbreak | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 じ 字
Kanji 断 severance, decline, refuse 腸 intestines, guts, bowels Related words 悲かな しみ Everyday word for sadness or sorrow; 断腸 is much more intense and literary, often implying a gut-wrenching grief.
心こころ が 痛いた む Common expression for emotional pain; 断腸 is stronger and more formal, typically used in written language or set phrases.
Etymology Literally 'cutting the intestines,' from a classical Chinese story in which a mother monkey's intestines were severed by grief when her baby was killed. The expression entered Japanese as a metaphor for extreme heartbreak.
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離はな
れ
た
。
He left his hometown with a heart-wrenching feeling.
Hearing the news, I felt heartbroken.
