懊 (ào) — (bound form) vexed, regretful, annoyed
Definition
懊 is a bound morph meaning 'vexed, regretful' — it only appears inside set compounds like 懊悔 (regret), 懊恼 (annoyed), and 懊丧 (dejected). Never used alone.
bound form
vexedregretfulannoyed
Easily confused
- 澳àolook-alike(bound form) inlet, bay (used in place names)
- 奥àosound-alike(bound morpheme) profound, abstruse, mysterious (in compounds like 奥妙, 深奥)
- 噢ōlook-alike(interjection) oh! ah! (used to indicate realization or understanding)
- 傲àosound-alikeproud; arrogant
- 坳àosound-alikemountain pass, col (between two peaks)
Examples
- 。Tā duì zì jǐ shuō guò de huà gǎn dào fēi cháng ào huǐ.He deeply regretted the words he had said.
- ，。Yīn wèi dǔ chē chí dào, tā xīn lǐ hěn ào nǎo.She was very annoyed because she was late due to traffic.
- ，懊。Kǎo shì méi kǎo hǎo, tā yì liǎn ào sàng de biǎo qíng.He had a dejected look on his face after failing the exam.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
奧
奧ào懊ào
Same sound today
The left side 忄 is the heart, written fully as 心, and marks a feeling; the right side 奧 gives the sound.
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