冤屈 (yuān qū) — to treat unjustly; to wrong | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to wrong / treat unjustly' — being mistreated or blamed unfairly. Often used in the passive (被冤屈) when someone suffers a miscarriage of justice.

verb

to treat unjustlyto wrong

Examples

冤屈，。
Tā bèi rén yuān qū le, xīn lǐ hěn nán guò.
He was wronged by someone, and felt very sad.
冤屈。
Wǒ men bù néng yuān qū rèn hé yí gè hǎo rén.
We cannot wrong any good person.
冤屈。
Nǐ zhè yàng shuō shì zài yuān qū tā.
Saying that is wronging him.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

冤yuāninjustice

Injustice and wrongdoing stand side by side, forming the sense of a grievance.

Characters in this word

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

冖兔冤

冖冖mìcover
兔兔tùrabbit

The shape of 冤 is built from two parts: 冖, a cover, and 兔, a rabbit.

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

尾尾wěitail

Sound part声符shēngfú

出

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

屈 was built from 出 for sound and 尾 for tail; the tail part later changed into the top of 屈.

Appears in

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