不满
bùmǎn · HSK 2
dissatisfied
😠 不 (not) + 满 (full/satisfied) = not satisfied = resentful
不 negates and 满 means full or satisfied. Together: not full of satisfaction, hence dissatisfied or resentful. The 满 component also appears in 满意 (satisfied).
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
满 — water 氵 + 㒼 (phonetic)
满 is a phono-semantic compound. The water radical 氵 gives the meaning, originally referring to a vessel filled to the brim with water, while 㒼 supplies the sound. From 'full of water' the sense broadened to 'full, filled, complete,' and later 'satisfied' or 'entirely.'