义愤填膺

義憤填膺

yìfèn-tiányīng

idiom #50,851

Meanings

1 righteous indignation fills one's breast
2 to be filled with moral outrage

Characters

anger; indignation

Examples

HSK 6

她义愤填膺地写了一封公开信。

Tā yìfèn-tiányīng de xiě le yì fēng gōngkāixìn.

In righteous anger, she wrote an open letter.

HSK 7-9

看到新闻里的虐待事件，他义愤填膺。

Kàndào xīnwén lǐ de nüèdài shìjiàn, tā yìfèn-tiányīng.

On seeing the abuse case in the news, he was filled with righteous indignation.

HSK 7-9

群众义愤填膺，要求严惩凶手。

Qúnzhòng yìfèn-tiányīng, yāoqiú yánchéng xiōngshǒu.

The crowd was seething with outrage and demanded the culprit be severely punished.

Tips

history

From Zeng Pu's late-Qing novel 《孽海花》 (Flower in a Sea of Sin), chapter 25: 珏斋不禁义愤填膺 - a minister, overcome with moral fury, drafts a lengthy memorial urging war. 膺 literally means 'chest'; the indignation is felt physically filling the breast.

usage

Reserved for anger over moral or social injustice - corruption, cruelty, betrayal of principle. Not for personal annoyance. The 义 (righteousness) prefix is what distinguishes it from ordinary 愤怒.

Stroke Order

义 yì

愤 fèn

填 tián

膺 yīng