怨气 (yuàn qì) — resentment, grievance, complaint

Definition

怨气 is the pent-up resentment a person carries inside, often unspoken. Heavier and more bottled-up than 怨言 (spoken complaints) or 牢骚 (grumbling).

noun

resentmentgrievancecomplaint

，怨气。
Tā suī rán méi shuō huà, dàn liǎn shàng mǎn shì yuàn qì.
Although he didn't speak, his face was full of resentment.
怨气，。
Nǐ xīn lǐ yǒu yuàn qì jiù shuō chū lái, bié biē zhe.
If you have a grievance in your heart, just say it; don't bottle it up.
怨气。
Cháng qī de yuàn qì jī lěi huì ràng rén biàn de xiāo jí.
Long-term accumulation of resentment can make a person become negative.

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.

怨yuànresentment

怨 gives resentment and 气 gives air or feeling, so the whole means a resentful mood.

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.

夗心怨

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.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in