About
The character "怂" originates from its traditional form "慫", which is composed of the component "从" meaning "to follow" placed above the component "心" meaning "heart or mind", creating an ideogram that originally conveyed the idea of being urged or stirred from within. Its early usage centered on the meaning "to instigate" or "to alarm", reflecting an active state of agitation or encouragement imposed upon the heart. Over centuries, the semantic focus gradually inverted, shifting from this external prompting to describe an internal state of hesitation and fear, as if one's heart is passively following distractions or fears rather than being resolute. This evolved into its predominant modern meaning of "timid", "frightened", or "cowardly", while the original sense of urging became archaic and fell out of common use, leaving the character solely associated with a lack of courage or resolve.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他怂恿我去打球。
你别认怂啊！
哥哥怂恿弟弟爬树。
不要怂恿朋友犯错。
她怂恿我参加比赛，我赢了。
面对挑战，他没有认怂。
尽管大家都怂恿他，他还是坚持自己的决定。
他的怂恿背后隐藏着不可告人的目的。