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气馁 (qì něi) — discouraged; dejected

Definition

Literary/formal adjective meaning 'discouraged, dejected,' from losing heart after failure. Stronger and more written than the everyday 灰心; close to 沮丧 but more emphatic.

adjective
discourageddejected

Examples

  • ，气馁。
    Jí shǐ shī bài le, yě bú yào qì něi.
    Even if you fail, don't get discouraged.
  • 气馁。
    Tā yīn wèi chéng jì bù lǐ xiǎng ér yǒu xiē qì něi.
    He was a bit discouraged because his grades were not ideal.
  • ，气馁。
    Miàn duì tiǎo zhàn, wǒ men jué bù néng qì něi.
    Facing challenges, we must never be discouraged.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

气qìspirit
馁něidiscouraged

「气」as spirit, 「馁」as discouraged or faint: the spirit grows weak, losing confidence.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

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

Open 气 →

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 餒; 馁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
妥
妥tuǒ餒něi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 餒 pairs 食 with 妥 as a sound part; the simplified 馁 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 馁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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