Chinese symbol for “despondent”
抑郁
yì yù
Traditional: 抑鬱
depressed; despondent; gloomy
The closest CC-CEDICT match for despondent is 抑郁 (yì yù), defined as: depressed; despondent; gloomy.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “despondent”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 失神 | shī shén | absent-minded; to lose spirit |
| 偬 (傯) | zǒng | busy; hurried |
| 懊丧 (懊喪) | ào sàng | dejected; despondent |
| 侘 | chà | boast; despondent |
| 嗒然 | tà rán | (literary) despondent; depressed |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 抑郁.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 抑制 | yì zhì | to inhibit; to keep down |
| 压抑 (壓抑) | yā yì | to constrain or repress emotions; oppressive |
| 抑或 | yì huò | or; could it be that...? |
| 抑郁症 (抑鬱症) | yì yù zhèng | clinical depression |
| 抑制剂 (抑制劑) | yì zhì jì | suppressant; inhibitor |
| 忧郁 (憂鬱) | yōu yù | sullen; depressed; melancholy; dejected |
| 郁闷 (鬱悶) | yù mèn | gloomy; depressed |
| 浓郁 (濃郁) | nóng yù | rich; strong |
See also: Japanese symbol for “despondent”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.