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安慰 (ān wèi) — (verb) to comfort, to console; (adjective) comforting, consoling

Definition

Both a verb ('to comfort, console someone') and an adjective ('comforting'). More personal and emotional than 慰问, which is official/formal sympathy to those in difficulty.

verb
to comfortto console
adjective
comfortingconsoling
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 安慰，。
    Wǒ ān wèi le tā jǐ jù, tā jiù bù kū le.
    I comforted her with a few words, and she stopped crying.
  • 安慰。
    Tā gěi le wǒ hěn duō ān wèi de huà.
    He gave me a lot of comforting words.
  • 安慰。
    Tā ān wèi le zhèng zài kū de mèi mei.
    She comforted her crying younger sister.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

安ānsoothe; calm
慰wèicomfort

The soothing part and the comforting part work together to ease someone's feelings.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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
心心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
尉
尉wèi慰⁰wèi
Same sound today

慰 puts 心 (heart) beside 尉 to show a feeling of comfort, while 尉 gives the sound.

Open 慰 →
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