万念俱灰 (wàn niàn jù huī) — utterly disheartened, in utter despair, all hopes dashed

Definition

A chengyu for complete despair — every hope extinguished, with no will to carry on. Stronger and more literary than 失望; describes a total emotional collapse, not just disappointment.

idiom
utterly disheartenedin utter despairall hopes dashed

Examples

  • ，万念俱灰，。
    Gōng sī pò chǎn hòu, tā wàn niàn jù huī, zhěng tiān bǎ zì jǐ guān zài fáng jiān lǐ.
    After his company went bankrupt, he was utterly disheartened and locked himself in his room all day.
  • 万念俱灰，。
    Gāo kǎo luò bǎng shǐ tā wàn niàn jù huī, dàn jiā rén de gǔ lì ràng tā chóng xīn zhèn zuò qǐ lái.
    Failing the college entrance exam left her in utter despair, but her family's encouragement helped her pull herself together.
  • ，万念俱灰，。
    Tīng dào hǎo yǒu qù shì de xiāo xi, tā wàn niàn jù huī, yǎn lèi zhǐ bú zhù dì liú.
    Upon hearing of his close friend's death, he was utterly disheartened, tears streaming uncontrollably.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

念 combines 今, an upside-down mouth, with 心, the heart, to listen to one's heart.

Open 念 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
具
具jù俱jù
Same sound today

俱 pairs 亻, a form of 人 (person), with 具 as the sound part.

Open 俱 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Open 灰 →

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