愾

It expresses anger, especially strong indignation or emotional agitation. It often carries a sense of moral or collective anger rather than trivial irritation.

A phono-semantic compound consisting of:

心 (heart) — semantic component, indicates emotional state;

氣 — phonetic component, supplying the sound (개 / kài) and reinforces the idea of rising energy or breath.

The character conveys the image of “agitated qi within the heart,” symbolizing anger or intense emotion.

Semantic development:

- emotional agitation;

- anger or indignation;

- collective or patriotic indignation.

The connection between heart (emotion) and qi (vital energy) reflects classical Chinese psychology.

In Korean, the form 慨 is more commonly used today, but 愾 represents the same emotional field.

개탄 (慨歎 / 愾叹) — to sigh with indignation

의개 (義愾) — righteous indignation

愾 emphasizes internal emotional energy rising into anger. It closely related semantically to 慨 but distinct in graphic structure.

Related characters:

怒 — anger

憤 — indignation

慨 — to sigh with emotion

氣 — breath; vital energy