宿愿 (sù yuàn) — long-cherished wish; dream (that one has held f…

Definition

宿愿 (sùyuàn) is a long-held wish or dream, often one pursued over many years. More formal and literary than everyday 愿望.

noun

long-cherished wishdream (that one has held for a long time)

Easily confused

宿愿。
Tā zhōng yú shí xiàn le zì jǐ de sù yuàn.
He finally realized his long-cherished wish.
宿愿。
Zhè ge sù yuàn yì zhí cáng zài tā de xīn lǐ.
This long-cherished wish has always been hidden in his heart.
宿愿。
Qù shì jiè gè dì lǚ xíng shì tā cóng xiǎo de sù yuàn.
Traveling around the world has been his long-cherished wish since childhood.

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.

宿sùlong-standing

宿 gives 'long-standing' and 愿 gives 'wish', so a wish held for a long time.

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from an old drawing of 人, a person, resting on a mat.

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

原心愿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

原

Same sound today

愿 places 心 (heart) below 原, which supplies the sound yuán; the 心 part marks the sense of heart or feeling.