愁 (chóu): to worry about
愁 (chóu) is a Chinese character meaning “to worry about.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 秋 (phonetic) and 心 (semantic). It ranks #2076 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 愁 heart. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- to worry about
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 愁 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 愁
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忧愁adjective | yōu chóu | to be worried |
| 愁眉不展phrase | chóu méi bù zhǎn | with a worried frown |
| 犯愁verb | fàn chóu | to worry |
| 乡愁noun | xiāng chóu | homesickness |
| 哀愁noun | āi chóu | sorrow |
| 愁肠百结 | chóu cháng bǎi jié | hundred knots of worry in one's intestines (idiom) |
| 愁苦adjective | chóu kǔ | anxiety |
| 愁绪noun | chóu xù | melancholy |
| 悲愁adjective | bēi chóu | melancholy |
| 愁闷adjective | chóu mèn | depressed |
| 怎一个愁字了得 | zěn yī gè chóu zì liǎo dé | (last line of the poem 聲聲慢|声声慢 by Song poet Li Qingzhao 李清照) |
| 多愁多病 | duō chóu duō bìng | much sorrows and illness (idiom) |
| 面带愁容 | miàn dài chóu róng | with a sad air |
| 多愁善感phrase | duō chóu shàn gǎn | (idiom) emotionally sensitive and prone to melancholy |
| 虱子多了不痒，债多了不愁 | shī zi duō le bù yǎng , zhài duō le bù chóu | (lit.) when covered with lice, one doesn't feel the itching anymore, and when up to one's ears in debt, one ceases to... |
愁 appears in 29 compound words: 24 as the first character, 45 as the last, and 31 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 愁 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
hundred knots of worry in one's intestines (idiom); weighed down with anxiety
old worries with new hatred added (idiom); afflicted by problems old and new
hundred knots of worry in one's intestines (idiom); weighed down with anxiety
old worries with new hatred added (idiom); afflicted by problems old and new
Showing 10 of 11 idioms containing 愁.
Example Sentences
他愁眉不展，似乎有什么心事。
Tā chóuméi bù zhǎn, sìhū yǒu shénme xīnshì.
He frowned, seemingly having something on his mind.
...方日报产评】中东黑天鹅来袭 全球经贸顿添愁
. . . fāng rì bào chǎn píng zhōng dōng hēi tiān é lái xí quán qiú jīng mào dùn tiān chóu
...[Fang Daily Economic Review] Black Swan Event Hits the Middle East, Casting a Shadow Over Global Trade and Economy
南京莫愁湖海棠花会春色满园
nán jīng mò chóu hú hǎi 棠 huā huì chūn sè mǎn yuán
The Begonia Festival at Mochou Lake in Nanjing Brings Spring to the Garden
刘亦菲单身多时不愁寂寞 爱犬随身陪伴左右
liú yì 菲 dān shēn duō shí bù chóu jì mò ài quǎn suí shēn péi bàn zuǒ yòu
Liu Yifei has been single for a long time and does not worry about loneliness, and her dog is always with her
...A1:新春8日 300万港人外游 市道更愁
. . . A 1 : xīn chūn 8 rì 3 0 0 wàn gǎng rén wài yóu shì dào gēng chóu
... A1: On the 8th of the Chinese New Year, 3 million Hong Kong people traveled abroad, and the market was even more troubled
新春走基层丨护送万千乡愁 奔赴团圆之路
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 hù sòng mò qiān xiāng chóu bēn fù tuán yuán zhī lù
New Year walk grassroots 丨 escort thousands of nostalgia to the reunion road
你借酒浇愁是为了什么事？
Nǐ jièjiǔjiāochóu shì wèile shénmeshì?
What pain are you trying to cover up with alcohol?
对一个科学家来说，多愁善感是不好的。
Duì yī gè kēxuéjiā lái shuō, duōchóushàngǎn shì bù hǎo de.
It is not good for a scientist to get emotional.
我不知道乡愁的滋味。
Wǒ bù zhīdào xiāngchóu de zīwèi.
I don't know what it is to be homesick.
忧愁就像魔鬼：谁不怕它，它就不能伤害谁。
Yōuchóu jiù xiàng móguǐ: shéi bù pà tā, tā jiù bù néng shānghài shéi.
Worries are like ghosts - those who aren't afraid of them can't suffer at their hands.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 心 (heart) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 愁 (chóu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 愁 and 揪?
How many strokes does 愁 have?
What is the radical of 愁?
What are the components of 愁?
What are common words containing 愁?
What characters sound the same as 愁 (chóu)?
Is 愁 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 愁 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.