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焦头烂额

jiāo tóu làn é

4-character word Traditional 焦頭爛額

What 焦头烂额 means

1. lit. badly burned about the head (from trying to put out a fire) (idiom)
2. fig. hard-pressed; under pressure (from a heavy workload, creditors etc)

The characters in 焦头烂额

• 焦jiāoburnt; scorched; charred
• 头tóuhead; hair style; the top
• 烂lànsoft; mushy; well-cooked and soft; to rot; to decompose
• 额éforehead; horizontal tablet or inscribed board; specified number or amount

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read jiāo tóu làn é correctly.
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