心灰意冷
xīn huī yì lěng
disheartened; ready to give up
Character by character
心xīn
heart
heart
灰huī
ash
ash
意yì
will
will
冷lěng
cold
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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