adjective / verb HSK 5
Traditional 憤慨
fèn kǎi
indignant · resentful · to feel indignation

Meaning

愤慨 describes a strong feeling of anger and displeasure toward something perceived as unjust, unfair, or morally wrong. It combines emotional outrage with a sense of moral indignation. This word carries a more formal or literary tone than simple anger words like 生气.

Usage

愤慨 is commonly used in written Chinese, news reports, and formal speech to describe reactions to social injustices, wrongdoings, or unfair treatment. It often appears as 感到愤慨 (to feel indignant) or 愤慨地 (indignantly). Native speakers use it when the anger has a righteous or justified quality, not for petty annoyances.

Examples

  1. 01
    民众对这起腐败案件感到十分愤慨
    Mín zhòng duì zhè bài àn jiàn gǎn dào shí fēn fèn kǎi.
    The public felt very indignant about this corruption case.
  2. 02
    愤慨地指出了这个决定的不公平之处。
    fèn kǎi de zhǐ chū le zhè ge jué dìng de gōng píng zhī chù.
    He indignantly pointed out the unfairness of this decision.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 感到愤慨
    gǎn dào fèn kǎi
    to feel indignant
  • 愤慨地说
    fèn kǎi de shuō
    to say indignantly
  • 表示愤慨
    biǎo shì fèn kǎi
    to express indignation
  • 充满愤慨
    chōng mǎn fèn kǎi
    filled with indignation

Antonyms

Origin

Both characters contain the heart radical 忄(心), indicating emotional states. 愤 originally meant pent-up anger, while 慨 conveys emotional sighing or strong feelings, together forming the sense of righteous indignation.

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