惊慌失色 jīng huāng shī sè terrified and pale

Explanation

形容非常害怕，脸色都变了。

Describes someone who is so frightened that their face changes color.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有一个名叫李白的诗人，他年轻时非常喜欢游历名山大川。一次，他来到一座深山里，迷路了。天色已晚，山风呼啸，树影婆娑，李白感到害怕，但又强迫自己保持镇静，继续寻找出路。走了许久，他发现前面有一座破旧的庙宇。他来到庙前，敲门。过了好一会儿，门开了，出来一个老婆婆。老婆婆看见李白，惊慌失色，脸色苍白，差点晕倒在地。李白连忙上前扶住老婆婆，关切地询问她怎么了。老婆婆颤颤巍巍地说："我老了，从来没见过这么俊秀的年轻人。"李白听后，不禁哈哈大笑。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu yīgè míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, tā nián qīng shí fēicháng xǐ huān yóu lì míng shān dà chuān. yī cì, tā lái dào yī zuò shēn shān lǐ, mí lù le. tiān sè yǐ wǎn, shān fēng hū xiào, shù yǐng pó suō, lǐ bái gǎndào hàipà, dàn yòu qiáng pò zì jǐ bǎochí zhèn jìng, jìxù xún zhǎo chū lù. zǒu le xǔ jiǔ, tā fā xiàn qián miàn yǒu yī zuò pò jiù de miào yǔ. tā lái dào miào qián, qiāo mén. guò le hǎo yī huǐ'er, mén kāi le, chū lái yīgè lǎo pó po. lǎo pó po kàn jiàn lǐ bái, jīng huāng shī sè, liǎn sè cāng bái, chà diǎn yūn dǎo zài dì. lǐ bái lián máng shàng qián fú zhù lǎo pó po, guān qiè de xún wèn tā zěn me le. lǎo pó po chàn chàn wēi wēi de shuō: 'wǒ lǎo le, cóng lái méi jiàn guò zhème jùn xiù de nián qīng rén.' lǐ bái tīng hòu, bù jīn hā hā dà xiào.

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai, who loved to travel to famous mountains and rivers when he was young. Once, he came to a deep mountain and got lost. It was getting late, the mountain wind was howling, the shadows of the trees were dancing, and Li Bai felt afraid, but he forced himself to stay calm and continued to look for a way out. After walking for a long time, he found an old and dilapidated temple in front of him. He came to the temple and knocked on the door. After a while, the door opened, and an old woman came out. When the old woman saw Li Bai, she was terrified, her face turned pale, and she almost fainted. Li Bai quickly stepped forward to support the old woman and asked her anxiously what was wrong. The old woman said tremblingly, "I am old and have never seen such a handsome young man."

Usage

用于形容人极度害怕的样子。

yòng yú xiáoróng rén jí dù hàipà de yàng zi

Used to describe someone who is extremely frightened.

Examples

• 听到这个噩耗，他惊慌失色，不知所措。

  tīng dào zhège è hào, tā jīng huāng shī sè, bù zhī suǒ cuò

  Hearing the bad news, he was terrified and at a loss.

• 面对突如其来的危险，她惊慌失色，脸色苍白。

  miàn duì tú rú qí lái de wēi xiǎn, tā jīng huāng shī sè, liǎn sè cāng bái

  Faced with the sudden danger, she was terrified and pale.

Related Idioms

• 惊慌失措

• 仓皇失措

Opposite Idioms

• 镇定自若

• 泰然自若