愤然 (fèn rán) — indignant; angry

Definition

A literary adverbial meaning 'indignantly / with anger', almost always used before a verb (愤然离开, 愤然反驳). Stronger and more formal than the everyday 生气, and usually modifies a single action rather than a lasting state.

verb
indignantangry

Examples

  • ，愤然。
    Tīng dào zhè ge bù gōng de jué dìng, tā fèn rán lí kāi le huì chǎng.
    Upon hearing this unfair decision, he left the meeting indignantly.
  • 愤然。
    Tā fèn rán dì fǎn bó le duì fāng de zhǐ zé.
    She refuted the other side's accusations angrily.
  • 愤然。
    Tā nà fèn rán de yǎn shén ràng rén bù gǎn zài shuō huà.
    His indignant look made people dare not speak anymore.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

愤fènangry
然ránway

愤 gives the angry sense, and 然 completes it as a way of acting.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 憤; 愤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
賁
賁bì憤fèn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 憤 pairs 忄 (heart) with 賁, which gives the sound; the simplified 愤 is a later shorthand.

Open 愤 →

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
肰
肰rán然rán
Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.