喊冤 (hǎn yuān) — to cry out about an injustice; to voice a grievance; to complain of unfair treatment

Definition

喊冤 means to publicly protest being treated unfairly or wrongly accused — stronger than just 抱怨 (grumbling), focused on calling out a real injustice. Used in formal contexts like courtrooms or public complaints.

verb
to cry out about an injusticeto voice a grievanceto complain of unfair treatment

Examples

  • 喊冤。
    Tā zài fǎ tíng shàng hǎn yuān.
    He cried out a grievance in court.
  • 喊冤，。
    Bǎi xìng men fēn fēn hǎn yuān, yāo qiú gōng píng duì dài.
    The people voiced grievances one after another, demanding fair treatment.
  • ，。
    Tā hǎn le sān tiān yuān, zhōng yú yǒu rén lái guǎn le.
    He shouted grievances for three days, and finally someone came to deal with it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

喊hǎncry out
冤yuāninjustice

喊冤 joins 喊 (cry out) with 冤 (injustice), meaning to cry out about an injustice.

Characters in this word

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
咸
咸xián喊hǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

喊 puts 口 (mouth) beside 咸, showing a mouth action and using 咸 for the sound.

Open 喊 →

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

The shape of 冤 is built from two parts: 冖, a cover, and 兔, a rabbit.

Open 冤 →

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