人心惶惶

rén xīn huáng huáng

everyone is on edge; widespread anxiety

Character by character

人rén
people

心xīn
hearts

惶huáng
frightened

公司要裁员的消息一传出来，办公室里人心惶惶。

As soon as word got out that the company was cutting jobs, the whole office was on edge.

Tone: neutral.

Describes a whole group, a town or a firm gripped by fear, often after rumours; common with 弄得, 一时间 or 闹得. The opposite is 人心安定.

Learn this in Lesson 194 · HSK 7–9: 二十八年后破案 (Solved after twenty-eight years)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.