众怒 (zhòng nù) — public wrath / public anger

Definition

Literary/formal noun for the collective anger of the public — the wrath of the masses, not a single person's anger. Typically appears in fixed phrases like 引起众怒 or 众怒难犯.

noun
public wrath / public anger

Examples

  • 众怒。
    Tā de bú dàng yán lùn yǐn qǐ le zhòng nù.
    His inappropriate remarks aroused public wrath.
  • 众怒，。
    Zhèng fǔ bì xū huí yìng rén mín de zhòng nù, fǒu zé jiāng shī qù xìn rèn.
    The government must respond to the people's public anger, otherwise it will lose trust.
  • 众怒，。
    zhòng nù Yí dàn bào fā, hòu guǒ bù kān shè xiǎng.
    Once public wrath erupts, the consequences would be unimaginable.

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.

众zhòngmany people
怒nùanger

众 indicates many people, and 怒 is anger, giving the sense of public wrath.

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 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
奴
奴nú怒nù
Same sound today

怒 pairs 心 (heart) with 奴, which is used for its sound rather than its meaning of slave.

Open 怒 →

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