惆怅 (chóu chàng) — disconsolate, melancholy, wistful

Definition

A literary word for a quiet, lingering sadness — the melancholy of parting or fading beauty. More poetic and written than 伤心, and warmer than 悲伤 (which is heavier grief).

adjective
disconsolatemelancholywistful

Examples

  • ，惆怅。
    Lí bié shí, tā gǎn dào yí zhèn chóu chàng.
    At the moment of parting, he felt a wave of melancholy.
  • ，惆怅。
    Wàng zhe yuǎn qù de bèi yǐng, tā xīn zhōng mǎn shì chóu chàng.
    Watching the receding figure, her heart was filled with disconsolate sadness.
  • ，惆怅。
    Qiū yǔ mián mián, ràng rén jué de shí fēn chóu chàng.
    The endless autumn rain makes one feel very melancholy.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

惆chóu
怅chàng

惆 and 怅 together spell melancholy; neither character carries a separate meaning here.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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