Making Chinese characters easy to write.

Sister Sites

Five Elements Test Chinese-Idioms.com

About•Privacy Policy•Terms of Service

DICTIONARY

Chinese Dictionary
Pinyin Index
Radical Index
Character Components
HSK Dictionary
Character Compare

DICTIONARY

Chinese Dictionary
Pinyin Index
Radical Index
Character Components
HSK Dictionary
Character Compare

TOOLS

Worksheet Generator
Worksheet Library
Writing Practice
Pinyin Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Zodiac Calculator
HSK Level Checker
Flashcards
Dictation Practice

TOOLS

Worksheet Generator
Worksheet Library
Writing Practice
Pinyin Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Zodiac Calculator
HSK Level Checker
Flashcards
Dictation Practice

LEARN

Learning Center
Blog
Chinese Stroke Rules
Chinese Poetry
Pro Membership ✨

LEARN

Learning Center
Blog
Chinese Stroke Rules
Chinese Poetry
Pro Membership ✨

© 2026 Hanzi Stroke. All rights reserved.

Made with♥for Chinese learners.

卧薪尝胆 (wò xīn cháng dǎn): Meaning, Examples & Usage

By CharacterBrowse all characters A-Z

By PinyinSearch by pronunciation

By RadicalFind by radical component

By ComponentsLearn meaning and sound clues

HSK ListsAll HSK versions overview

HSK 2.0

Learn & Practice

Worksheet Generator

Learning Essentials

Home
Dictionary
卧薪尝胆

卧薪尝胆 (wò xīn cháng dǎn): To endure hardship and humiliation in order to achieve a goal (idiom) — Meaning & Stroke Order

1.

Animated Stroke Order

Stroke order animation for 卧薪尝胆

2.

Free Printable Worksheet: 卧薪尝胆

卧薪尝胆 writing worksheet PDF preview

Download Worksheet

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6

HSK 3.0

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7-9

Create practice sheets for free

Worksheet LibraryHSK, Top 100 & themed PDFs

Writing PracticePractice HSK and saved words

Dictation PracticeListen and write HSK characters

Flashcard ReviewSRS review for HSK and custom decks

HSK Level CheckerCheck HSK level of any text

Pinyin ConverterConvert Chinese to Pinyin

My Learning

Learning DashboardTrack your writing progress

My VocabularyReview saved words and lists

Fun & Culture

Name GeneratorCreate your Chinese name

8 Basic Strokes GuideHot

Foundation of all characters

Pinyin Tones Guide

4 tones with audio examples

Chinese Handwriting Guide

Daily practice routine

HSK 3.0 Complete GuideNew

New exam format explained

HSK 1 Common Mistakes

Avoid beginner errors

Topics & Culture

Chinese Numbers 1-1000

Count like a native

Time & Dates Guide

Tell time in Chinese

Family Members Guide

30+ family terms

2026 Fire Horse YearHot

Zodiac meaning & luck

Top 100 Characters

Most frequent, free PDF

View All Blog Posts

3.

Character Breakdown

卧 • wò • to lie down; to crouch • HSK 3.0 · L7-9

HSK 3.0 · L7-9

wò卧

to lie down; to crouch

薪 • xīn • firewood, fuel

xīn薪

firewood, fuel

尝 • cháng • taste • HSK 2.0 L3

HSK 3

cháng尝

taste

胆 • dǎn • gallbladder; courage, boldness

dǎn胆

gallbladder; courage, boldness

Word Info

Pinyinwò xīn cháng dǎn

Meaningto endure hardship and humiliation in order to achieve a goal; to work hard with a strong determination to succeed

Characters4

HSK—

Syntaxidiom

Learn the full idiom story

Read the origin story and cultural notes for 卧薪尝胆

Zodiac CalculatorFind your zodiac animal

Words Sharing Characters

More common words that include characters from 卧薪尝胆.

Words with 卧

卧室wò shìbedroom
卧铺wò pùsleeper
卧倒wò dǎolie down; drop prone
卧床wò chuángstay in bed; bedridden
卧底wò dǐundercover agent
卧房wò fángbedroom
卧榻wòtàbed, sleeping couch
蜷卧quánwòto lie curled up

Words with 薪

薪水xīn shuǐsalary; pay; wages
年薪nián xīnAnnual salary
薪酬xīn chóusalary
加薪jiā xīnraise salary

Words with 尝

品尝pǐn chángtaste; sample
尝试cháng shìtrial; attempt
尝尝cháng changto taste; to try (food)
浅尝辄止qiǎncháng zhézhǐto stop after a tiny taste; to dabble without thorough understanding

Words with 胆

大胆dà dǎnbrazen
胆小dǎn xiǎocowardice
胆小鬼dǎn xiǎo guǐcoward
胆怯dǎn qiètimid; cowardly

薪金

xīn jīn

salary

高薪gāo xīnhigh salary

杯水车薪bēi shuǐ chē xīna totally inadequate measure; too little to solve the problem

釜底抽薪fǔ dǐ chōu xīntake drastic measures to deal with a situation

胆量

dǎn liàng

Courage

提心吊胆tí xīn diào dǎnlive in fear / be on tenterhooks

壮胆zhuàng dǎnto get one’s courage up

胆囊dǎn nánggallbladder

4.

Example Sentences with 卧薪尝胆

wèi为

le了

shí实

xiàn现

mèng梦

xiǎng想

，

tā他

wò卧

xīn薪

cháng尝

dǎn胆

，

kè刻

kǔ苦

xué学

xí习

。

To realize his dream, he endured hardships and studied diligently.

gōng公

sī司

jīng经

lì历

shī失

bài败

hòu后

，

tuán团

duì

队

wò卧

xīn薪

cháng尝

dǎn胆

，

zhōng终

yú于

dōng东

shān山

zài再

qǐ起

。

After the company experienced failure, the team endured hardships and finally made a comeback.