Proverb / Kotowaza
哀毀骨立
Becoming so physically wasted and thin from extreme grief that one is reduced to skin and bone.
To be destroyed by grief until the bones stand out
Quick Answer
Becoming so physically wasted and thin from extreme grief that one is reduced to skin and bone.
- Literal Image
- To be destroyed by grief until the bones stand out
- How to Use It
- Used to describe the severe physical transformation of someone who is suffering from extreme grief or bereavement.
Meaning
This expression describes a state of extreme sorrow, following the death of a parent or loved one, where the emotional pain is so intense that it destroys the person's physical health. The term emphasizes a condition of severe emaciation where the body has wasted away to the point that the skeletal structure becomes prominent. It captures a depth of bereavement that manifests as profound physical frailty.
Literal Image
To be destroyed by grief until the bones stand out
How to Use It
Used to describe the severe physical transformation of someone who is suffering from extreme grief or bereavement.
Tone
Serious and literary; used to highlight the gravity of a person's emotional and physical decline.
Examples
父を亡くした彼は、食事も喉を通らず、哀毀骨立といった有様で、周囲を心配させた。 彼女は最愛のペットを失った悲しみから、日ごとに痩せ衰え、まさに哀毀骨立の姿だった。
After losing his father, he was unable to eat and fell into such a state of physical decline from grief that everyone around him was worried.
彼女は最愛のペットを失った悲しみから、日ごとに痩せ衰え、まさに哀毀骨立の姿だった。
Out of the sorrow of losing her beloved pet, she wasted away day by day, appearing truly emaciated from grief.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
This is a four-character idiom (yojijukugo) using formal kanji and a literary structure typical of classical Chinese origins.
哀
あい / ai
grief, sorrow
毀
き / ki
to damage, destroy
骨
こつ / kotsu
bone
立
りつ / ritsu
to stand, be prominent
Usage Profile
Usage note: This is a very heavy expression; use it only when describing extreme, visible physical decline due to loss.
Misread Risk
It specifically refers to physical wasting caused by grief, not just general weight loss or illness unrelated to emotional pain.
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Origin
This expression originates from the "Virtuous Conduct" (徳行) section of the Shishuo Xinyu (世説新語), an anecdote collection compiled by 劉義慶 during China's Northern and Southern dynasties. It records that when 王戎 and 和嶠 were both mourning their parents, 和嶠 followed all the formal rituals but remained healthy, whereas 王戎 was so consumed by grief that he wasted away to skin and bone despite not strictly adhering to formal rites. 劉仲雄 explained to the emperor (武帝) that while 和嶠 showed "living filial piety," 王戎 showed "filial piety to the point of death," which established the idiom as a description of Wang Rong's condition.
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