A classical Chinese line for “I am emotionally exhausted”

These matches come from a curated corpus of real Chinese poetry and philosophy. The source line is fixed; the English wording is provided to make its meaning accessible.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

抽刀断水水更流，举杯消愁愁更愁。

Chōu dāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú, jǔ bēi xiāo chóu chóu gèng chóu.

Close English reading

Cut water with a blade and it flows all the more; raise a cup to drown sorrow and sorrow grows deeper.

Plain meaningTrying to force grief away can make it return even more strongly.

SourceLi Bai · Tang dynasty · Farewell to Secretary Shu Yun at Xie Tiao Tower in Xuanzhou
Complete Tang Poems

Why it fitsThe image captures frustration with feelings that cannot simply be cut off or numbed.

Original context and translation note

弃我去者，昨日之日不可留；乱我心者，今日之日多烦忧。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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Translation note: The English readings are original explanatory translations for this product. They are designed for clarity and source verification, not presented as definitive literary translations.

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抽刀断水水更流，举杯消愁愁更愁。

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