hàn
noun #21,329

Meanings

  1. 1 regret
  2. 2 sense of loss

Examples

Zhè shì wǒ yìshēng de yíhàn.
This is my lifelong regret.
Méiyǒu yíhàn le.
No more regrets.

Tips

usage
Almost always used in 遗憾 (yíhàn, regret/pity).

Components

radical
xīn
heart (left-side radical of 心)
Left heart radical, the upright side form of . Indexes in the emotion-and-mood family ( feeling, 怀 to harbour, to regret). Regret is felt rather than thought, so the heart on the side gives the picture: emotion sitting in the chest, hand-on-heart sense of loss.
phonetic
gǎn
to feel; to sense (here phonetic + semantic)
Right supplies the sound gǎn → hàn through a regular k/h alternation and pulls a clear semantic load too — itself already means 'to feel.' Adding another heart on the left intensifies it: 遗憾 deep regret is feeling-on-feeling, a sentiment heavy enough to deserve doubled emphasis.

Stroke Order

hàn