Chinese word

压抑

Pronunciation

Pinyinyā yì

Meaning

  • verbsuppress

Example

他总是压抑自己的感情。tā zǒng shì yā yì zì jǐ de gǎn qíng

He always suppresses his feelings.

Illustration for 压抑 (suppress)

More examples

压力让她不得不压抑情绪。yā lì ràng tā bù dé bù yā yì qíng xù

Pressure forced her to suppress her emotions.

Core concept

A feeling or impulse is pressed inward and kept from showing or being released.

Common phrases

  • 压抑情绪yā yì qíng xù

    suppress emotions

  • 压抑感情yā yì gǎn qíng

    suppress feelings

  • 压抑欲望yā yì yù wàng

    suppress desires

Similar words

克制kè zhì: Consciously holding back a feeling, desire, or impulse to control present behavior.
忍住rěn zhù: Stopping a feeling, word, or action from coming out at that moment.
压制yā zhì: Forcefully stopping another person's actions or expression through power or authority.
抑制yì zhì: Making a reaction or rising force weaker so that it stops developing.

Definition in Chinese

用力量或心理压力把内心的情感、欲望或冲动阻止住，使其不外露或不释放。yòng lì liàng huò xīn lǐ yā lì bǎ nèi xīn de qíng gǎn yù wàng huò chōng dòng zú zhǐ zhù shǐ qí bú wài lù huò bú shì fàng

Word origin

压 (yā, "press down") + 抑 (yì, "hold back") combines the image of downward force with restraint, giving a verb for keeping an inner feeling, desire, or impulse from emerging.

Usage tips

  • As a transitive verb, it usually takes the feeling, desire, or impulse being held back as its object, rather than describing a person as simply quiet or sad.

Other meanings

  • restrainverb
  • repressverb
  • oppressiveadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 压抑感yā yì gǎnfeeling of oppressionnoun

Word lists with this word