(yuàn) — to blame, to complain (with a sense of grievance)

Definition

怨 is a literary verb meaning to blame or resent with a sense of grievance. Stronger and more written than 抱怨 (colloquial 'to grumble'); lighter than 仇恨 ('to hate').

verb
to blameto complain (with a sense of grievance)

Examples

  • Tā zǒng yuàn bié rén bù bāng tā, què bù xiǎng xiǎng zì jǐ zuò le shén me.
    He always blames others for not helping him, but doesn't think about what he himself did.
  • Zhè jiàn shì bù néng yuàn nǐ, shì dà jiā méi gōu tōng hǎo.
    This matter cannot be blamed on you; it's that everyone didn't communicate well.
  • Tā yuàn zhàng fu bù guān xīn tā, qí shí tā zì jǐ yě bù zhǔ dòng.
    She blames her husband for not caring about her, but actually she herself doesn't take the initiative.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
wǎnyuàn
Same sound today

怨 has 心 (heart) below and 夗 above as a sound part; the heart part shows the meaning concerns feelings.

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