希冀 (xī jì) — (formal, literary) to hope for, to wish for | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal, literary verb meaning 'to hope/wish for' — stronger and more written than 希望. Common in essays, speeches, and poetic language rather than everyday speech.

verb

(formal, literary) to hope forto wish for

Examples

希冀。
Tā xī jì néng gòu shí xiàn zì jǐ de lǐ xiǎng.
He hopes to realize his own ideals.
希冀。
Rén men dōu xī jì shì jiè hé píng yǒng yuǎn chí xù.
People all wish for world peace to last forever.
希冀。
Zhè wèi lǎo rén xī jì hái zi néng yì shēng xìng fú.
This old man hopes his child can be happy all their life.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

希 and 冀 both mean hope, so together they form a literary word for hoping for something.

Characters in this word

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

爻爻yáo
巾巾jīncloth

希 is made from 爻 and 巾, which means cloth. How those parts connect to “hope” is not explained.

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

北異冀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

異

異yì冀jì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

冀 pairs 北 with 異: 異 gives the sound, and 北 is the meaning part.

Appears in

Will & Intention

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