(è) - ominous & terrible

Tone 4

è | 16 strokes | radical:

· è

ominous;

terrible;

dreadful;

shocking;

appalling;

also refers to a nightmare or bad dream.

ominousterribledreadful

Usage highlights

nightmarebad newsominous signdreadful newsominous dreamsudden bad news

Synonyms

  • ominous, inauspicious
  • evil, bad
  • tragic, miserable

Antonyms

  • auspicious, lucky
  • propitious, fortunate
  • happy, joyful

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He had a nightmare last night (噩梦).
  • The news was shocking (噩耗).
  • This is an ominous sign (噩兆).
  • They received dreadful news (噩讯).

Collocations

  • nightmare(噩梦)
  • bad news(噩耗)
  • ominous sign(噩兆)
  • dreadful news(噩讯)
  • ominous dream(凶梦噩兆)
  • sudden bad news(噩电)

Idioms

  • Like a nightmare(如梦如噩)
  • Ominous dream and shocking news(梦噩耗惊)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character's complex structure with multiple 'mouth' components (口) suggests something that is widely spoken of or notorious.
  • In traditional Chinese culture, '噩' carries strong negative connotations and is often associated with inauspicious events or news.
  • It appears in classical texts describing ominous dreams or portents of misfortune.

FAQ