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心灰意冷

xīn huī yì lěng

disheartened; ready to give up

Character by character

心xīn
heart
灰huī
ash
意yì
will
冷lěng
cold

Example

一次次被拒绝,他渐渐心灰意冷。
Rejected again and again, he gradually lost heart.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

Hope has burnt out like cold ashes.

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