銷魂

See also: 销魂

Chinese

		to melt; to do away with; to sell	soul
trad. (銷魂)		銷	魂
simp. (销魂)		销	魂
alternative forms		消魂

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiāohún

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄠ ㄏㄨㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): siu¹ wan⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): siau-hûn

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiāohún
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠ ㄏㄨㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siaohún
    • Wade–Giles: hsiao¹-hun²
    • Yale: syāu-hwún
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiauhwen
    • Palladius: сяохунь (sjaoxunʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ xu̯ən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: siu¹ wan⁴
    • Yale: sīu wàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: siu¹ wan⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: xiu¹ wen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯⁵⁵ wɐn²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siau-hûn
    • Tâi-lô: siau-hûn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siau'huun
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /siau⁴⁴⁻²² hun¹³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siau³³ hun²⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /siau⁴⁴⁻²² hun²⁴/

Verb

銷魂

1. to be overwhelmed with sorrow or joy; to be absent-minded due to extreme sadness, distress or joy

   • 怕黃昏忽地又黃昏，不銷魂怎地不銷魂。
     新啼痕壓舊啼痕，斷腸人憶斷腸人。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     怕黄昏忽地又黄昏，不销魂怎地不销魂。
     新啼痕压旧啼痕，断肠人忆断肠人。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: circa 1300?, 王實甫 (Wang Shifu),《十二月過堯民歌•別情》, translated as From A Year's End to Folklore: Parting Grief by Xu Yuanchong

     Pà huánghūn hūde yòu huánghūn, bù xiāohún zěnde bù xiāohún.
     Xīn tíhén yā jiù tíhén, duàncháng rén yì duàncháng rén. [Pinyin]

     The dim twilight I fear will often reappear.
     O how can my soul lost be found at any cost?
     The new cannot efface the old tear-shedding trace;
     One broken heart yearns for the other kept apart.

Derived terms

• 喪膽銷魂 / 丧胆销魂
• 銷魂奪魄 / 销魂夺魄
• 黯然銷魂 / 黯然销魂