义愤 (yì fèn) — righteous indignation | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

righteous indignation

义愤。
Tā duì bù gōng píng de xiàn xiàng chōng mǎn le yì fèn.
He was filled with righteous indignation at the phenomenon of unfairness.
义愤，。
yì fèn Shǐ rén men tuán jié qǐ lái, yāo qiú gǎi biàn.
Righteous indignation united people to demand change.
义愤。
Zhè zhǒng yì fèn tuī dòng tā qù jiē lù zhēn xiàng.
This righteous indignation drove him to expose the truth.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

义yìrighteous

愤fènindignation

Indignation that is 义, righteous or moral, gives the sense of justified anger.

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

我

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

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 憤; 愤 is its simplified writing.

忄賁憤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

賁

賁bì憤fèn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 憤 pairs 忄 (heart) with 賁, which gives the sound; the simplified 愤 is a later shorthand.