憂

Compound ideograph — combining several elements that together symbolize mental affliction and heaviness of the heart:

頁 (머리 혈) — the head, indicating the seat of thought.

冖 (덮을 멱) — a covering, expressing suppression or pressure.

心 (마음 심) — the heart, representing emotion.

夂 (올 치) — movement or following, implying something pressing down.

Together they depict the mind weighed down by thoughts and cares, expressing emotional heaviness and mental burden.

In some ancient forms, the component 𢝊 (心 + 頁) already stood for the act of worrying or grieving.

憂慮 (우려) — concern, apprehension

憂鬱 (우울) — depression, gloom

憂患 (우환) — affliction, misfortune

憂國 (우국) — concern for the nation

杞憂 (기우) — baseless worry (“The man of Qi fears the sky will fall”)

多憂 (다우) — full of worries

憂愁 (우수) — melancholy, sadness

In Confucian philosophy, 憂 transcends mere personal anxiety and becomes a virtue of moral concern.

A junzi (君子) feels 憂 not for himself but for the world — a sorrow born of compassion and responsibility.

君子憂道不憂貧。

“The noble man grieves for the Way, not for poverty.”

— Analects (論語), Weizi 7:12

Here, 憂 expresses ethical seriousness — a heart attuned to the suffering of others and the decline of virtue.

In Daoist writings, 憂 often appears as a state to be transcended —

the anxious clinging of the heart that disturbs natural harmony (道).

無憂無慮，與道偕行。

“Without sorrow or worry, one walks together with the Dao.”

Buddhist texts, meanwhile, interpret 憂 as one of the afflictive emotions (煩惱) arising from attachment — to be observed and released through insight.

In Chinese and Korean poetry, 憂 symbolizes melancholy tempered with thoughtfulness — a mark of both wisdom and emotional depth.

愁憂滿懷而不言，君子之悲也。

“Sorrow fills his heart, yet he does not speak — such is the sadness of the noble man.”