如意 (rú yì) — (verb) as one wishes, according to one's desires; used in blessings and expressions of good fortune; (noun) ruyi scepter, an ornamental object symbolizing good luck and authority

Definition

A fixed blessing-word meaning 'as one wishes' (used in phrases like 事事如意) and also the ornamental ruyi scepter symbolizing good luck. Far more formal and culturally fixed than 随意 ('at will'), which describes casual, voluntary everyday actions.

verb
as one wishesaccording to one's desiresused in blessings and expressions of good fortune
noun
ruyi scepter, an ornamental object symbolizing good luck and authority
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 如意
    Wǒ zhù nǐ shì shì rú yì.
    I wish you success in everything.
  • 如意
    Tā sòng gěi wǒ yì bǎ rú yì zuò wéi lǐ wù.
    He gave me a ruyi scepter as a gift.
  • 如意
    Shēng huó bù kě néng shì shì rú yì, dàn wǒ men yào bǎo chí lè guān.
    Life can't have everything go as you wish, but we must stay optimistic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

match
wish

"如" conveys matching, and "意" conveys wish, so the meaning is as one desires.

Characters in this word

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
kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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