想不开 (xiǎng bù kāi) — to take things too seriously, to dwell on the negative; to be unable to see the bright side

Definition

Refers to a person (not a situation) — someone who can't get over a setback and keeps brooding. The opposite is 想得开: able to let go and see the bright side.

verb
to take things too seriouslyto dwell on the negativeto be unable to see the bright side

Examples

  • 想不开，。
    Tā zǒng shì wèi yì diǎn xiǎo shì xiǎng bù kāi, huó dé tè bié lèi.
    She always takes small things too hard and lives very tired.
  • ，想不开。
    Rén shēng nán miǎn yǒu cuò zhé, bié tài xiǎng bù kāi.
    Life inevitably has setbacks — don't take them too much to heart.
  • 想不开，。
    Tā yīn wèi méi kǎo shàng dà xué yì zhí xiǎng bù kāi, jiā rén hěn dān xīn.
    He's been dwelling on not getting into university, and his family is very worried.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

想xiǎngthink
不开not open
不bùnot开kāiopen
偏正Modifier + head

想 is to think, and 不开 means not opening up; together they describe being unable to think through.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart, mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng想xiǎng
Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

Open 想 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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