TongTong
Sign in

宿怨 (sù yuàn) — an old grudge; long-standing resentment

Definition

宿怨 (sù yuàn) means 'old grudge' — resentment carried over a long time, often between people or groups. The first character 宿 is read sù here (not xiǔ or sù 'stay overnight'), giving it a formal, literary tone.

noun
an old grudgelong-standing resentment

Examples

  • 宿怨。
    Tā men zhī jiān de sù yuàn yǐ jīng chí xù le shí jǐ nián.
    The old grudge between them has lasted for over a decade.
  • 宿怨。
    Zhè cì chōng tū yuán yú duō nián qián de sù yuàn.
    This conflict stems from an old grudge many years ago.
  • 宿怨。
    Tā shì tú huà jiě liǎng rén zhī jiān de sù yuàn.
    He tried to resolve the long-standing resentment between the two.

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.

宿sùold or long-standing
怨yuàngrudge

'宿' means old or long-standing and '怨' means grudge, so an old grudge.

Characters in this word

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

  • 人人rénperson
  • 囗囗wéibamboo mat

The shape comes from an old drawing of 人, a person, resting on a mat.

Open 宿 →

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
夗
夗wǎn怨yuàn
Same sound today

怨 has 心 (heart) below and 夗 above as a sound part; the heart part shows the meaning concerns feelings.

Open 怨 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.