📖 Meaning
To regard something as a source of regret; to feel sorry or apologetic about an event or outcome. It is typically used when a worthy person or excellent work fails to receive the recognition or opportunity it deserved, leaving a lingering sense of disappointment.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase has no single classical textual origin (出处: 无) and is a modern idiomatic construction built from common classical grammatical components: 引 (to draw upon or take), 以 (thereby), 为 (to treat as), and 憾 (regret). Unlike many chengyu rooted in specific historical episodes from works such as the Analects, Zhuangzi, or the Records of the Grand Historian, 引以为憾 belongs to a family of '引以为...' phrases (alongside 引以为戒, 引以为荣, 引以为耻) that crystallized in modern written Chinese to concisely express an evaluative stance toward an event.
💡 Example Usage
这部优秀的作品因名额限制未能获奖，实在令人引以为憾。
It is truly regrettable that such an outstanding work failed to win an award due to the quota limitation.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 引以为憾
- Pinyin: yǐn yǐ wéi hàn
- Literal Translation: take, thereby, to be, regret
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4