欣慰 (xīn wèi) — gratified; pleased and relieved | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

欣慰 describes a quiet, reassuring satisfaction — relief mixed with pleasure at how something turned out. More sober and reflective than the bright delight of 惊喜 or 欣喜; warmer and more emotional than the calm contentment of 惬意.

adjective

gratifiedpleased and relieved

Examples

，欣慰。
Kàn dào xué shēng men de jìn bù, lǎo shī fēi cháng xīn wèi.
Seeing the students' progress, the teacher felt very gratified.
，欣慰。
Tīng dào nǐ ān quán de xiāo xi, wǒ men dōu hěn xīn wèi.
We were all relieved and pleased to hear that you were safe.
，欣慰。
Tā kǎo shàng le lǐ xiǎng de dà xué, gǎn dào shí fēn xīn wèi.
He felt very gratified to have been admitted to his ideal university.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

慰wèicomforted

'欣' joy and '慰' comfort combine for gratified relief.

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.

斤欠欣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

斤

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

欣 combines 斤, which hints at the sound, with 欠, which carries the meaning.

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

尉心慰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尉

尉wèi慰⁰wèi

Same sound today

慰 puts 心 (heart) beside 尉 to show a feeling of comfort, while 尉 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Emotions & Feelings

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