憾 hàn regret
regret; remorse
How to remember 憾: 忄 heart + 感 feel = regret. The old man's heart still aches, and he can feel the weight of the letter he never sent his brother, full of regret.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
憾 = 忄 heart + 感 feel
- 忄 heart meaning
- 感 feel sound
- 咸 salty
- 戊 fifth
- 𠮛 piled up
- 心 heart
- 咸 salty
The old man's heart still aches, and he can feel the weight of the letter he never sent his brother, full of regret.
How it came to be
The heart at the left gives the meaning and the sign for feeling gives the sound.
How it is used
- 憾 is bound and almost exclusively found in 遗憾 (yíhàn), "regret, a pity", used to express disappointment about something that couldn't be changed.
- 很遗憾，我不能参加 (hěn yíhàn, wǒ bù néng cānjiā), I'm sorry to say I can't attend, a polite, slightly formal way to decline or express regret.
- 遗憾 differs from 后悔 (hòuhuǐ): 后悔 is regret over your OWN past choice or action (I regret what I did), while 遗憾 is regret/disappointment about an outcome or situation, often outside your control.