遗愿 (yí yuàn) — dying wish; last behest

Definition

noun

dying wishlast behest

遗愿。
Tā lín zhōng qián zhōng yú shí xiàn le zuì hòu de yí yuàn.
He finally fulfilled his dying wish before passing away.
遗愿。
Fù qīn de yí yuàn shì ràng wǒ men zhào gù hǎo mǔ qīn.
My father's dying wish was for us to take good care of our mother.
遗愿。
Tā yì zhí nǔ lì wán chéng zhàng fu de yí yuàn.
She has been striving to fulfill her husband's dying wish.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

遗yíleft behind

遗 (left behind) and 愿 (wish) form a wish left behind before death.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 遺; 遗 is its simplified writing.

辶貴遺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòmove

Sound part声符shēngfú

貴

貴guì遺yí

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

The traditional form 遺 pairs 辶 (move) with 貴 as a sound part; the simplified 遗 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

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

原心愿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

原

Same sound today

愿 places 心 (heart) below 原, which supplies the sound yuán; the 心 part marks the sense of heart or feeling.

Appears in