怒气 (nù qì) — anger; rage; fury | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

怒气 (nùqì) is the anger held or shown inside a person — a noun for the feeling itself, often used in set phrases like 怒气冲冲. Stronger and more literary than the everyday verb 发火 ('lose one's temper').

noun

angerragefury

Examples

怒气，。
Tā mǎn liǎn nù qì, méi yǒu shuō huà.
His face was full of anger; he didn't say a word.
怒气，。
Tā rěn zhù le xīn zhōng de nù qì, méi yǒu fā huǒ.
She suppressed the anger in her heart and didn't lose her temper.
。
Tā nù qì chōng chōng dì zǒu jìn bàn gōng shì.
He stormed angrily into the office.

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.

气qìtemper

怒 'angry' and 气 'temper' combine to picture a heated angry temper.

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.

心奴怒

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.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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