生闷气 (shēng mēn qì) — to brood in anger, to be sulky | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

To bottle up anger and sulk quietly instead of talking it out. Pairs with the verb 生, often reduplicated as 生生闷气 for a light, brief fit.

verb

to brood in angerto be sulky

Examples

。
Tā yí gè rén zuò zài nà lǐ shēng mēn qì.
He sat there alone brooding in anger.
，。
Tā shēng le yí dù zi mēn qì, shuí yě bù lǐ.
She was full of sulky anger and ignored everyone.
，。
Bié shēng mēn qì le, yǒu shén me huà hǎo hǎo shuō.
Don't sulk; if you have something to say, say it nicely.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

生shēngproduce

闷气sulky anger

闷mēnsulky气qìanger

偏正Modifier + head

生 means to produce, and 闷气 is sulky anger, so together it means to brood.

Characters in this word

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

屮屮chèbud
一一yīground

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

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 悶; 闷 is its simplified writing.

門心悶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

門

門mén悶mēn

Same sound today

The traditional form 悶 has 門 as a sound part and 心 as a meaning part; the simplified 闷 is a later shorthand.

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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