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将要 (jiāng yào) — be going to; will; be about to

Definition

将要 is a formal adverb for 'be about to, be going to' — stronger than everyday 要 (yào) and more formal than 将 (jiāng), but less immediate than 即将.

adverb
be going towillbe about to

Examples

  • 将要。
    Huì yì jiāng yào kāi shǐ.
    The meeting is about to start.
  • 将要。
    Wǒ men jiāng yào xià kè le.
    We are about to finish class.
  • 将要。
    Tā jiāng yào qù běi jīng xué xí.
    He is going to Beijing to study.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

将jiāngabout to
要yàowill

将 'about to' and 要 'will' combine to express a future action.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 將; 将 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán將jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 將 combines 爿, which also supplies a sound and may show a small table, with ⺼ (meat) and 寸 (hand) to picture offering meat as tribute. The simplified 将 is a later shorthand.

Open 将 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Time (Abstract)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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