Welcome to ChineseFrequencyDictionary.com. Enter a Chinese character or compound Chinese word to lookup. If a valid dictionary entry is found, frequency information will be shown below:

Chinese Character/Word:

Definition(s) for: 芒刺在背

Hanzi Pinyin Definition(s)
芒刺在背 máng cì zài bèi - feeling brambles and thorns in one's back (idiom)
- uneasy and nervous
- to be on pins and needles

List Ranking:

Where rank 1 is most common, and higher numbers are less common.

HSK 2 Level (2012) HSK 3 Band (2022) SUBTLEX-CH BeijingUni Global BeijingUni Weibo
- - 42,551 - 102,931

Individual Character Breakdown:

Simp Pinyin Eng
máng- awn (of cereals)
- arista (of grain)
- tip (of a blade)
- Miscanthus sinensis (type of grass)
- variant of 邙, Mt Mang at Luoyang in Henan
- (onom.) whoosh
- thorn
- sting
- thrust
- to prick
- to pierce
- to stab
- to assassinate
- to murder
zài- to exist; to be alive
- (of sb or sth) to be (located) at
- (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
bēi- to be burdened
- to carry on the back or shoulder
bèi- the back of a body or object
- to turn one's back
- to hide something from
- to learn by heart
- to recite from memory
- (slang) unlucky
- hard of hearing
bēi- variant of 背[bei1]

Other Words Containing 芒刺在背

Sorted by the 'SUBTLEX-CH' rank because that seems like the most reliable. Words without a SUBTLEX-CH rank are ignored for being too rare.

Word HSK 2 Level (2012) HSK 3 Band (2022) SUBTLEX-CH BeijingUni Global BeijingUni Weibo
芒刺在背 - - 42,551 - 102,931