冤

• Pinyin: yuān
• Hanzi breakdown: 冤 = 冖 (cover) + 兔 (rabbit trapped, injustice)

Meaning

Injustice; grievance; wrongful accusation. As an adjective, unjust, wronged, or not worth it.

Describes being falsely accused or treated unfairly. Colloquially, 冤 also means spending money that feels wasted or suffering for nothing. Common in legal and emotional contexts.

Examples

1. 他蒙受了十年的冤屈终于平反。 After suffering a wrongful conviction for ten years, he was finally exonerated.
2. 这钱花得太冤了，东西根本不值这个价。 That was such a rip-off—the item isn’t worth that price at all.
3. 她替别人背了黑锅，真是冤啊。 She took the blame for someone else—how unfair.

Usage Guide

Context: legal, complaints, colloquial

Tone: emotional

Do Say

• 这起冤案终于得到了纠正。(This wrongful case was finally corrected.)
• 花了这么多钱买假货，太冤了。(Spending so much money on counterfeit goods is such a waste.)

Don't Say

• 我很冤快乐 — 冤 expresses grievance, not happiness; these are contradictory

Origin & History

冤 = 冖 (cover) + 兔 (rabbit) — a trapped rabbit, symbolizing injustice

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal