Chinese word

埋怨

Pronunciation

Pinyinmán yuàn

Meaning

  • verbcomplain

Example

她经常埋怨饭菜不好吃。tā jīng cháng mán yuàn fàn cài bù hǎo chī

She often complains that the food doesn't taste good.

Illustration for 埋怨 (complain)

More examples

他常常向同事埋怨加班太多。tā cháng cháng xiàng tóng shì mán yuàn jiā bān tài duō

He often complains to his coworkers that there is too much overtime.

Core concept

Stored dissatisfaction comes out as words aimed at a person or thing seen as responsible.

Common phrases

  • 向别人埋怨xiàng bié rén mán yuàn

    complain to others

  • 为小事埋怨wèi xiǎo shì mán yuàn

    complain about small things

  • 埋怨生活mán yuàn shēng huó

    complain about life

Similar words

抱怨bào yuàn: Voice annoyance or dissatisfaction about a person, situation, or experience in everyday speech.
责怪zé guài: Blame someone for a mistake or failure and hold that person responsible.
指责zhǐ zé: Strongly criticize someone by pointing out their faults or problems.
投诉tóu sù: Make a formal complaint to an office or responsible person and ask for the problem to be handled.

Definition in Chinese

把心里的不满用语言表达出来，向别人抱怨或指责令自己不满的事或人。bǎ xīn lǐ de bù mǎn yòng yǔ yán biǎo dá chū lái xiàng bié rén bào yuàn huò zhǐ zé lìng zì jǐ bù mǎn de shì huò rén

Word origin

埋怨 (mányuàn, "complain") combines 埋 (mái, "bury") + 怨 (yuàn, "resentment"), suggesting resentment kept inside and then expressed.

Usage tips

  • A simple report of a problem sounds more neutral than this verb, which often presents someone or something as the cause and adds a note of reproach.

Other meanings

  • grumbleverb
  • blameverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 埋怨者mán yuàn zhěcomplainernoun
  • 埋怨声mán yuàn shēngcomplaining voicenoun

Word lists with this word