期盼 (qī pàn) — to expect, to look forward to | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

期盼 is a formal, written verb for eagerly looking forward to or hoping for something — stronger and more literary than 期待, more focused on hopeful waiting than the neutral 等待.

verb

to expectto look forward to

Examples

期盼。
Hái zi men dōu qī pàn zhe jià qī de dào lái.
The children are all looking forward to the arrival of the holiday.
期盼。
Wǒ qī pàn nǐ néng zǎo rì kāng fù.
I hope you will recover soon.
期盼。
Tā yì zhí qī pàn shōu dào nà fēng xìn.
She has been expecting to receive that letter.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

期qīexpect

盼pànlook forward

期 and 盼 both point forward to something wanted, giving a sense of hopeful waiting.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

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

目分盼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

分

分fēn盼pàn

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

盼 is made of 目 and 分; 分 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings Will & Intention

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