# 无病呻吟

wú bìng shēn yín

Complain without cause or display contrived sentiment

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Groan without being ill

**Traditional Chinese:** 無病呻吟

**Register:** Critical · expressive

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Criticize exaggerated complaints or artificial emotional writing.

Do not dismiss genuine suffering with this phrase.

## Understanding the expression

Groaning normally signals pain; without illness, the groan appears unsupported or performed. The expression criticizes complaints that seem manufactured and writing that strains to sound sorrowful without convincing substance. It is a judgment about authenticity, and therefore can be unkind or unfair when someone’s difficulties are not visible. In literary criticism, explain which details make the emotion feel artificial rather than assuming that sadness itself is excessive.

## Examples

这篇散文感情空洞，像无病呻吟。

### Traditional Chinese

這篇散文感情空洞，像無病呻吟。

zhè piān sǎn wén gǎn qíng kōng dòng ， xiàng wú bìng shēn yín 。

The essay’s emotions are hollow, like manufactured sorrow.

他把一点小麻烦写得像灾难，难免有无病呻吟之嫌。

### Traditional Chinese

他把一點小麻煩寫得像災難，難免有無病呻吟之嫌。

tā bǎ yì diǎn xiǎo má fán xiě dé xiàng zāi nàn ， nán miǎn yǒu wú bìng shēn yín zhī xián 。

He portrayed a small inconvenience as a disaster, inviting criticism of needless complaining.

别把她的求助当成无病呻吟。

### Traditional Chinese

別把她的求助當成無病呻吟。

bié bǎ tā de qiú zhù dàng chéng wú bìng shēn yín 。

Do not dismiss her request for help as baseless complaining.

评论家认为这首诗无病呻吟。

### Traditional Chinese

評論家認為這首詩無病呻吟。

píng lùn jiā rèn wéi zhè shǒu shī wú bìng shēn yín 。

The critic thought the poem indulged in contrived sentimentality.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E7%84%A1%E7%97%85%E5%91%BB%E5%90%9F)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=703&webMd=1&la=0)

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