悲观 (bēi guān) — pessimistic | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A general attitude of expecting bad outcomes — opposite of 乐观. Unlike 失望, which is a reaction to a specific event, 悲观 is a broader outlook on life or the future.

adjective

pessimistic

Examples

悲观，。
Bú yào zhè yàng bēi guān, shì qing huì hǎo qǐ lái de.
Don't be so pessimistic; things will get better.
，悲观。
Jí shǐ yù dào kùn nan, tā yě cóng bù bēi guān.
Even when encountering difficulties, he is never pessimistic.
悲观，。
Wǒ duì jié guǒ bìng bù bēi guān, yīn wèi nǔ lì guò le.
I am not pessimistic about the result, because I have tried hard.

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.

观guānoutlook

悲 means sad, and 观 means outlook, so together they describe a sad or pessimistic view.

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.

非心悲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart; thought; emotion

Sound part声符shēngfú

非

非fēi悲bēi

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悲 pairs 非 as the sound part with 心, the heart/emotion part.

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 觀; 观 is its simplified writing.

雚見觀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

見見jiànsee

Sound part声符shēngfú

雚

雚guàn觀guān

Same sound today

The traditional form 觀 uses 見 (see) for meaning and 雚 for sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Personality & Traits

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