TongTong
Sign in

寄托 (jì tuō) — to entrust (someone or something) to someone's care; to place (hope, emotion, energy, etc.) in something

Definition

寄托 covers both senses: entrusting someone/something to another's care, and (more common figuratively) placing hopes or emotions in something. It is broader than 委托 (commissioning someone to do a task) and more literary than 托付.

verb
to entrust (someone or something) to someone's careto place (hope, emotion, energy, etc.) in something

Examples

  • 寄托。
    Fù mǔ bǎ nián yòu de hái zi jì tuō gěi le yé ye nǎi nai.
    The parents entrusted their young child to the grandparents.
  • 寄托。
    Tā bǎ quán bù jīng lì jì tuō zài yīn yuè chuàng zuò shàng.
    He places all his energy into music composition.
  • 寄托。
    Tā zhǐ néng bǎ xī wàng jì tuō zài yī shēng de zhì liáo shàng.
    She can only place her hopes on the doctor's treatment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

寄jìentrust
托tuōplace

寄 and 托 both mean to place or entrust, so the word describes putting hope or feelings into something.

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miánhouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
奇
奇qí寄jì
Same sound today

The 宀 part shows a roof, and 奇 gives the sound. Together they point to staying or lodging away from home.

Open 寄 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
乇
乇tuō托tuō
Same sound today

托 is built from 手 (hand) and 乇, which gives the sound tuō.

Open 托 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract ConceptsEmotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.