亟待 (jí dài) — to need urgently, to be in urgent need of (formal)

Definition

Formal/written verb meaning 'urgently needs (doing)'. Stronger than 需要 — it stresses that delay is unacceptable. The object is usually an action or a problem, not a person.

verb
to need urgentlyto be in urgent need of (formal)

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de jiāo tōng wèn tí jí dài jiě jué.
    The traffic problem in this city urgently needs to be solved.
  • 亟待。
    Zāi qū rén mín de shēng mìng ān quán jí dài bǎo zhàng.
    The safety and lives of the people in the disaster area urgently need to be protected.
  • 亟待。
    Zhè xiē gǎi gé cuò shī jí dài shí shī.
    These reform measures need to be implemented without delay.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

亟jíurgently
待dàito wait or need

亟 means urgently, and 待 means to wait or need.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

亟 places 人 (person) between 二 (two edges), marking the extremes around a person.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì待dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

待 is built from 彳 on the left and 寺 on the right; 彳 is tied to the meaning, and 寺 gives the sound.

Open 待 →

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