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怨天尤人 (yuàn tiān yóu rén) — to blame everyone and everything except oneself; to complain about fate and others

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to blame everyone and everything but oneself.' Always carries a negative judgment about the complainer — they refuse to take responsibility.

idiom
to blame everyone and everything except oneselfto complain about fate and others

Examples

  • 怨天尤人，。
    Yù dào kùn nan bú yào yuàn tiān yóu rén, yào xiān xiǎng xiǎng zì jǐ yǒu méi yǒu wèn tí.
    When you encounter difficulties, don't blame everyone but yourself; first think about whether you have a problem.
  • 怨天尤人，。
    Tā kǎo shì méi kǎo hǎo jiù yuàn tiān yóu rén, cóng lái bù fǎn xǐng zì jǐ.
    He failed the exam and blamed everyone but himself, never reflecting on his own shortcomings.
  • 怨天尤人，。
    Yǔ qí yuàn tiān yóu rén, bù rú nǔ lì gǎi biàn xiàn zhuàng.
    Rather than blaming everyone and everything, it's better to work hard to change the current situation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

怨天blame heaven
怨yuànblame天tiānheaven
动宾Verb + object
尤人blame people
尤yóublame人rénpeople
动宾Verb + object

怨天 means blaming heaven, and 尤人 means blaming people; together they mean blaming fate and others.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
夗
夗wǎn怨yuàn
Same sound today

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

Open 怨 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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

尤 pictures a hand with a wart.

Open 尤 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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