How to Write 冤 (yuān) — Meaning “Injustice; grievance; to wrong someone”

Picture a rabbit (兔) caught under a net (冖). The rabbit cannot escape and is wrongfully trapped, which helps you remember that 冤 means injustice or grievance.

Write the top radical 冖 first, then the bottom 兔. Be sure to include the small dot on the right side of 兔 (the rabbit’s tail) and make the cover wider than the rabbit to avoid confusion with similar characters.

冤 has 冖 over 兔 (rabbit), meaning injustice; 冠 has 冖 over 元 and 寸, meaning hat or crown; 冡 has 冖 over 豕 (pig), meaning to cover. Visually, 冤 uses a rabbit, while the others use different bottom parts.

冤 appears in common words like 冤枉 (to treat unjustly) and 冤家 (enemy or playful destined lover). It is often used to describe feelings of being wronged, for example when someone cries out 喊冤 (to cry injustice) in legal or emotional contexts.

Common words containing 冤 include: 冤枉 (yuān wǎng) — To treat unjustly; to wrong; not worth the effort; 冤家 (yuān jiā) — Enemy; foe; (playfully) destined lover; 喊冤 (hǎn yuān) — to cry out against an injustice.