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敬畏 (jìng wèi) — to revere, to hold in awe

Definition

敬畏 is 'reverence / awe' — respect blended with a touch of fear. Stronger and more emotionally charged than 尊敬 (pure respect) or 敬重 (deep respect); less fearful than 畏惧 (dread).

verb
to revereto hold in awe

Examples

  • 敬畏。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi duì zì rán de lì liàng xīn cún jìng wèi.
    We should hold awe for the power of nature.
  • ，敬畏。
    Tā duì dài gōng zuò fēi cháng rèn zhēn, duì měi gè xì jié dōu chōng mǎn jìng wèi.
    He takes his work very seriously and is full of reverence for every detail.
  • ，敬畏。
    Zài gǔ lǎo de wén huà zhōng, rén men duì zǔ xiān huái yǒu shēn shēn de jìng wèi.
    In ancient cultures, people held deep reverence for their ancestors.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

敬jìngrespect
畏wèifear

Combining 敬 (respect) with 畏 (fear) gives the feeling of holding something in awe.

Characters in this word

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ畏wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early form of 畏 drew a ghost 鬼 holding a stick. Later, 卜 was used as the meaning part and 鬼 as the sound part.

Open 畏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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