About
The character 忾 (traditional 愾) is a phonosemantic compound: the heart radical 忄 gives the meaning of emotion, and 气 (simplified from 氣) provides the sound. It denotes indignation, anger, or a despairing sigh, and appears notably in the idiom 同仇敌忾 ('share a bitter hatred of the enemy'). The composition juxtaposes the inner emotion (忄) with the outward release of breath or energy (气), reflecting the link between feeling and expression.
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