How to Write 怏 (yàng) — Meaning “discontented; unhappy”

Imagine someone standing in the center (央) of a room with a heavy heart (忄), looking unhappy because they cannot leave. The shape of 央 also looks like a person with arms crossed in a sulky mood.

Write the radical 忄 first: dot, dot, vertical stroke. Then write 央: vertical stroke, horizontal fold, horizontal, left-falling, then the last stroke is a right-falling. A common mistake is making the left vertical of 央 too short, which ruins the balance.

忏 (chàn) has 千 on the right and means 'to repent', often used in Buddhist contexts. 忕 (shì) is rare and means 'accustomed to'. 怏 (yàng) specifically expresses unhappiness or disappointment, and its right side is 央, not 千 or 大.

怏 is not common in daily speech; it appears mostly in literary or written Chinese. The word 怏怏不乐 describes someone who is visibly displeased or sullen after an unpleasant event. It carries a nuanced, somewhat classical tone of subdued resentment.

Common words containing 怏 include: 怏怏不乐 (yàng yàng bù lè) — unhappy; disgruntled; 怏怏 (yàng yàng) — discontented; dejected; 怏然 (yàng rán) — discontentedly.