丧气 (sàng qi) — feel disheartened, lose heart, be discouraged

Definition

丧气 (sàngqì) means feeling down and discouraged after a setback — losing heart, not just being sad. Negate with 别 or 没有, e.g. 别丧气.

feel disheartenedlose heartbe discouraged

Examples

，丧气。
Suī rán shī bài le, dàn tā méi yǒu sàng qi.
Although he failed, he didn't feel disheartened.
，丧气。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, dà jiā dōu hěn sàng qi.
Hearing this news, everyone felt disheartened.
丧气，。
Bié sàng qi, xià cì yí dìng yǒu jī huì.
Don't be disheartened; there will definitely be opportunities next time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

丧sànglose

气qìspirit

丧 means lose, and 气 means spirit; together it suggests losing one's spirit or confidence.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 喪; 丧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

㗊㗊㗊many mouths

Sound part声符shēngfú

桑

桑sāng喪sàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 喪 originally paired 桑 (mulberry tree) with 㗊 (many mouths). The simplified 丧 is the modern form, deriving from a form that used 哭 (cry) and 亡 (die).

Open 丧 →

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.

Open 气 →