痛恨 (tòng hèn) — to hate bitterly, to detest

Definition

Stronger and more emotional than 讨厌 — 'hate bitterly / detest', used for things one feels deeply opposed to (injustice, cruelty, lies).

verb

to hate bitterlyto detest

痛恨。
Wǒ tòng hèn nà xiē bù shǒu xìn yòng de rén.
I bitterly hate those who don't keep their word.
痛恨。
Tā tòng hèn zhàn zhēng dài lái de tòng kǔ.
She detests the suffering caused by war.
痛恨。
Wǒ men tòng hèn yí qiè xíng shì de qí shì.
We hate all forms of discrimination.

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.

痛tòngpainfully/bitterly

痛 bitterly intensifies 恨 hate to mean hate bitterly.

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.

疒甬痛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèillness

Sound part声符shēngfú

甬

甬yǒng痛tòng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 疒 part means illness, and 甬 gives the sound; together they form 痛, meaning pain or hurt.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄艮恨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart; thought; emotion

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 忄 is the heart, pointing to an emotion such as regret or hate. The right side 艮 supplies the sound.

Appears in