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道Nihongo Path

Word 3010 of 4449

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無念

むねん

bitter regret; chagrin at having lost or failed; mortification

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 一点差で負けて無念だ。

    いってんさでまけてむねんだ。

    Losing by a single point is galling.

  2. 彼は無念の思いを胸に引退した。

    かれはむねんのおもいをむねにいんたいした。

    He retired with a heavy sense of regret.

  3. 志半ばで倒れたのはさぞ無念だっただろう。

    こころざしなかばでたおれたのはさぞむねんだっただろう。

    He must have felt bitter at falling with his ambition only half fulfilled.

Common patterns

無念の涙
tears of frustration
無念を晴らす
to avenge; to make up for a bitter defeat
残念無念
utterly mortifying

Memory tip

Much heavier than 残念: 無念 is the bitterness of a defeat or death you cannot accept, and it is the word used of fallen warriors and beaten athletes. It also has a Buddhist sense, "free of all thought", in 無念無想.

Kanji in this word

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What does 無念 mean?