About
懑 is a phono-semantic compound made up of the heart radical 心 at the bottom and the component 满 (full) on top. Semantically, 心 anchors the character in the realm of emotions; phonetically, 满 provides the pronunciation mèn. The combination of 'full' above 'heart' creates a vivid picture of a heart so full that it is heavy with suppressed feeling, directly yielding the senses of melancholy, deep frustration, or pent-up anger. The traditional form is 懣, with the full character 滿 placed over the heart radical. The character most commonly appears in the word 愤懑 (fènmèn), which denotes an intense, unvented grievance or depression.
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