灯盏没油，火烧芯燈盞沒油，火燒芯燈盞沒油，火燒芯

a lamp dish with no oil: the fire burns the wick

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Describes someone extremely anxious.
Wordplay: 芯 xīn (wick) puns on 心 xīn (heart), so 'fire burns the wick' reads as 'burning anxiety in the heart'.

Sign up for a free account to save sentences and hear them read aloud

Simplified: 灯盏没油，火烧芯
Traditional (Taiwan): 燈盞沒油，火燒芯
Pinyin: dēngzhǎn méi yóu, huǒshāo xīn
Bopomofo: ㄉㄥㄓㄢˇ ㄇㄟˊ ㄧㄡˊ，ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄕㄠㄒㄧㄣ

Written with HSK 4 vocabulary, at CEFR level B1.

Words in this sentence

Where this sentence is used

Chinese sayings

Sign up for a free Chinese Boost account

Save the words and sentences you find here to your own list, and hear them read aloud. You can export the list to your flashcards whenever you like.

Create a free account

All Chinese example sentences