心寒 (xīn hán) — bitterly disappointed; disheartened (by someone's behavior or attitude)

Definition

A feeling of being 'cold inside' — bitterly disappointed, usually by someone close whose actions felt cold or ungrateful. Stronger than 失望; the disappointment cuts deep because it's personal.

adjective
bitterly disappointeddisheartened (by someone's behavior or attitude)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zuò le nà zhǒng shì, wǒ zhēn ràng rén xīn hán.
    After he did that, I felt truly disheartened.
  • ，心寒。
    Hái zi bù dǒng gǎn ēn, fù mǔ hěn xīn hán.
    When children don't show gratitude, parents feel bitterly disappointed.
  • ，心寒。
    Tīng dào zhè zhǒng huí dá, wǒ xīn hán jí le.
    Hearing that kind of answer, I was extremely disheartened.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

心xīnheart
寒háncold

心 is the heart and 寒 is cold, describing a chilled feeling from disappointment.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 人人rénperson
  • 茻茻mǎnggrass

寒 shows 宀 (house), 人 (person), and 茻 (grass): a person sleeping in grass inside a house to keep out the cold.

Open 寒 →

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