怛 (dá): distressed

Meanings

灾难的消息令人怛然。

Zāinàn de xiāoxi lìng rén dárán.

The news of the disaster left people shocked and grieved.

他心中充满了惨怛。

Tā xīnzhōng chōngmǎn le cǎndá.

His heart was heavy with grief and pain.

usage

怛 is a classical word for grief or alarm, found in 怛然 (alarmed, uneasy) and 惨怛 (deeply distressed).

radical

忄 xīn

heart; feeling

The heart radical, side form of 心, marks 怛 as an inner emotion, here grief and alarm.

phonetic

旦 dàn

dawn; daybreak

Supplies the sound, close to the modern reading dá. It is the same character seen standing alone as 旦.

怛 dá