如鲠在喉 rú gěng zài hóu like a fish bone in the throat

Explanation

比喻心里有话没有说出来，非常难受。

It means that one has something on one's mind that one cannot express, and it makes one very uncomfortable.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有个名叫李白的诗人，他胸怀大志，一心想为国家效力，却一直不得志。一次，他去拜访宰相张九龄，想把自己对国家时局的看法和建议说出来，却发现张九龄对自己的意见并不重视，这让他感到非常压抑。李白心里如同卡了一根鱼刺，难受至极，他默默地离开了张府，心中郁闷无比，这种感觉就如同鱼骨卡在喉咙里一样，难以言喻的难受。后来，李白将这种郁闷之情写进了他的诗篇中，传颂至今。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu gè míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, tā xióng huái dà zhì, yī xīn xiǎng wèi guó jiā xiào lì, què yī zhí bù dé zhì。yī cì, tā qù bài fǎng zǎi xiàng zhāng jiǔ líng, xiǎng bǎ zì jǐ duì guó jiā shí jú de kàn fǎ hé jiàn yì shuō chū lái, què fā xiàn zhāng jiǔ líng duì zì jǐ de yì jiàn bìng bù zhòng shì, zhè ràng tā gǎn dào fēi cháng yā yì。lǐ bái xīn li rú tóng kǎ le yī gēn yú cì, nán shòu zhì jí, tā mò mò de lí kāi le zhāng fǔ, xīn zhōng yù mèn wú bǐ, zhè zhǒng gǎn jué jiù rú tóng yú gǔ kǎ zài hóu lóng li yī yàng, nán yǐ yán yù de nán shòu。hòu lái, lǐ bái jiāng zhè zhǒng yù mèn zhī qíng xiě jìn le tā de shī piān zhōng, chuán sòng zhì jīn。

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai. He harbored great ambitions and wanted to serve the country, but he was always frustrated. Once, he visited Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling, hoping to express his views and suggestions on the political situation, but he found that Zhang Jiuling didn't pay much attention to his opinions. This made him feel very depressed. Li Bai felt like he had a fish bone stuck in his throat, so uncomfortable. He left Zhang's residence silently and was filled with gloom. This feeling was as uncomfortable as a fish bone stuck in his throat. Later, Li Bai wrote about this depression in his poems, which are still famous today.

Usage

作谓语、定语；比喻心里有话没说出来，很难受。

zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; bǐyù xīnli yǒu huà méi shuō chūlái, hěn nánshòu。

Used as a predicate or attributive; it describes a situation in which one has something on one's mind that one cannot express and therefore feels very unhappy.

Examples

• 这事情如鲠在喉，不说出来心里难受。

  zhè shìqing rú gěng zài hóu, bù shuō chūlái xīnli nán shòu。

  This matter is like a fish bone stuck in my throat; I can't get it out.

• 这件事一直如鲠在喉，让我寝食难安。

  zhè jiàn shì qí zhī rú gěng zài hóu, ràng wǒ qǐn shí nán ān。

  This matter has been bothering me, like a fishbone stuck in my throat.

Related Idioms

• 吞声忍气

• 耿耿于怀

Opposite Idioms

• 畅所欲言

• 一吐为快