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窝囊 (wō nang) — good-for-nothing, pathetic (describing a person); vexed, annoyed (describing a feeling or situation)

Definition

Colloquial adjective used mostly in spoken Chinese to call someone 'pathetic / useless' or to describe a frustrating situation. Stronger and more insulting than 沮丧, and strictly colloquial — avoid in writing.

adjective
good-for-nothingpathetic (describing a person)vexedannoyed (describing a feeling or situation)

Examples

  • 窝囊，。
    Tā zhè ge rén tài wō nang le, shén me shì dōu zuò bù hǎo.
    He is such a pathetic person; he can't do anything right.
  • 窝囊，。
    Jīn tiān zhēn wō nang, shén me shì qing dōu bú shùn lì.
    Today is really frustrating; nothing goes smoothly.
  • 窝囊，！
    Bié zhè me wō nang, zhèn zuò qǐ lái!
    Don't be so pathetic; cheer up!

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.

窝wō
囊náng

The characters 窝 and 囊 carry no meaning of their own in 窝囊; together they spell the word.

Sound-only characters

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 窩; 窝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi窩wō
Same sound today

The traditional form 窩 uses 穴, a cave, for meaning and 咼 for sound; the simplified 窝 is a later shorthand.

Open 窝 →

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
㯻㯻㯻bag
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng囊náng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Open 囊 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsPersonality & Traits

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