息怒 (xī nù) — to calm one's anger, to placate one's fury

Definition

息怒 means 'to calm one's anger' (often one's own, or urging another's). Typically used as a polite request (请先息怒) rather than describing spontaneous calming.

verb
to calm one's angerto placate one's fury

Examples

  • 息怒，。
    Qǐng xiān xī nù, tīng wǒ jiě shì.
    Please calm your anger first and listen to my explanation.
  • ，。
    Tā tīng le wǒ de jiě shì, zǒng suàn xī le nù.
    After hearing my explanation, he finally calmed his anger.
  • ，息怒。
    Wǒ quàn le hěn jiǔ, tā cái xī nù.
    I advised him for a long time before he calmed his anger.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

息xīstop
怒nùanger

Stop and anger combine to mean calming one's fury.

Characters in this word

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

In 息, 自 is nose and 心 is heart, showing breath or life passing through one's nose.

Open 息 →

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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