怨

Ideogrammatic compound composed of:

夗 (누워 뒹굴 원) — depicting a person lying on the side or turning away, symbolizing withdrawal or discontent.

心 (마음 심) — heart, representing emotion and inner feeling.

Together, the image conveys a heart turning away in bitterness — the emotional act of resenting or lamenting.

《說文解字》(Shuowen Jiezi):

「怨，恨也。从心，夗聲。」

“怨 means hatred or resentment; composed of 心 (heart) and phonetic 夗.”

Thus, the character denotes the emotion of the heart (心) responding to displeasure or pain (夗) — the heart that turns aside.

Semantic development:

Literal: to resent, to hate inwardly.

Extended:

- to blame (for perceived wrongdoing),

- to lament (sorrow mixed with reproach),

- to complain or grumble,

- in literature, to express emotion through sigh or song (怨歌, “lamenting song”).

怨恨 (원한) — resentment, rancor

抱怨 (포원) — to complain, to grumble

怨望 (원망) — to resent, to blame

深怨 (심원) — deep resentment

恩怨 (은원) — gratitude and resentment (the full range of feelings between people)

宿怨 (숙원) — long-standing grudge

含怨 (함원) — to harbor resentment

In classical Chinese poetry, 怨 often appears in contexts of love, separation, and loss — especially in the “怨詩” or “songs of sorrow,” where a woman laments an absent lover or unjust fate.

《詩經·小雅·節南山》(The Book of Odes):

「人亦有言，靡哲不愚。庶民之愚，亦職維怨。」

“As men say: none so wise but may err; the common people’s folly lies chiefly in resentment.”

Here, 怨 captures a collective sense of bitterness that arises from oppression — an emotion both personal and social.

《楚辭·九歌·湘君》(Songs of Chu):

「心不同兮媒勞，恩不甚兮輕絕。怨靈修兮浩蕩，終不察兮！」

“My heart no longer meets yours; my affection slighted, I grieve in vain!”

In Confucian ethics, 怨 was a sentiment to be moderated, not suppressed — the noble man (君子) may feel resentment but expresses it justly.

《論語·憲問》(Analects of Confucius):

「不怨天，不尤人。」

“Do not resent Heaven, nor blame others.”

Thus, 怨 became emblematic of the moral discipline to transform grievance into understanding.

Symbolic interpretation:

怨 signifies not only anger but the heart’s cry for justice or reconciliation.

It bridges emotion and morality — to feel 怨 is to recognize imbalance between what is and what ought to be.

《禮記·中庸》 (Book of Rites)

「怨而不怒，德之厚也。」

“To resent without rage — that is the depth of virtue.”

The sage, therefore, does not extinguish 怨 but sublimates it — turning hurt into wisdom, bitterness into compassion.

Across ages, from Confucian restraint to lyrical sorrow, 怨 stands as the voice of the wounded heart, seeking both expression and resolution.