(yíng) — to welcome, to greet; to meet, to face (someone or something); to forge ahead, to tackle (difficulties) head-on

Definition

迎 is the verb half of compounds like 迎接 (welcome) and 欢迎 (welcome). On its own it leans toward 'to face / meet head-on' — as in 迎难而上 ('forge ahead in the face of difficulties') — rather than the everyday greeting sense of 见面 or 问候.

verb
to welcometo greetto meetto face (someone or something)to forge aheadto tackle (difficulties) head-on

Examples

  • Wǒ men zài dà mén kǒu yíng jiē xīn tóng xué.
    We welcome new classmates at the main gate.
  • Tā yíng zhe fēng pǎo bù, yì diǎn yě bú pà lěng.
    He runs facing the wind and isn't afraid of the cold at all.
  • Wǒ men yào yíng nán ér shàng, bù néng tuì suō.
    We must forge ahead in the face of difficulties and not retreat.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
Written in full aschuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
ángyíng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迎 is made of 辶 (written fully as 辵) for the meaning and 卬 for the sound.

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