辛酸 xīnsuān pungent (taste)
pungent (taste); bitter; figuratively sad; miserable
How to remember 辛酸: 辛 spicy + 酸 sour = pungent (taste).
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How it is used
- Bitter and sad - the pain and hardship behind a story - 说起往事,她一脸辛酸 (shuōqǐ wǎngshì, tā yì liǎn xīnsuān) recalling the past, her face filled with bitterness.
- Chiefly figurative for painful, hard-luck experiences (辛酸的经历 a bitter ordeal; 辛酸泪 tears of hardship).
- From the literal "pungent and sour," it names emotional bitterness from suffering - heavier and more poignant than plain 难过 (sad).