煞费苦心 shàfèikǔxīn to take great pains Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 煞 shà very adverb used before an adjective or verb to indicate a high degree费 費 fèi verb to exert to use or consume effort, time, or energy苦心 kǔxīn painstaking effort trouble taken to achieve something; pains