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不满 (bù mǎn) — dissatisfied, discontented, resentful

Definition

不满 means 'dissatisfied / resentful' — a feeling that someone or something falls short of what you expected. Stronger and more personal than 不平, which focuses on a sense of unfairness.

adjective
dissatisfieddiscontentedresentful

Examples

  • 不满。
    Tā duì gōng sī de jué dìng fēi cháng bù mǎn.
    He is very dissatisfied with the company's decision.
  • 不满。
    Hěn duō gù kè duì fú wù bù mǎn.
    Many customers are dissatisfied with the service.
  • 不满。
    Tā de tài dù ràng rén bù mǎn.
    His attitude makes people dissatisfied.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不bùnot
满mǎnfull or satisfied

不 says not, and 满 means full or satisfied, so it means dissatisfied.

Characters in this word

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滿; 满 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒼
㒼㒼滿mǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 滿 pairs 水, showing water, with 㒼, giving the sound. The simplified 满 is a later shorthand, not the original shape.

Open 满 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Emotions & Feelings

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