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预感 (yù gǎn) — (verb) to have a premonition; to sense beforehand; (noun) premonition; foreboding

Definition

预感 is a personal, gut-level 'premonition' or 'hunch' about something not yet confirmed. Unlike 直觉 (a quick, often unconscious intuition), 预感 implies a foreboding or expectation you sense before it happens.

verb
to have a premonitionto sense beforehand
noun
premonitionforeboding

Examples

  • 预感。
    Wǒ yù gǎn zhè cì kǎo shì huì hěn nán.
    I have a premonition that this exam will be very difficult.
  • 预感。
    Tā de yù gǎn zǒng shì hěn zhǔn què.
    Her premonitions are always very accurate.
  • 预感。
    Tā xīn zhōng yǒu yì zhǒng bù xiáng de yù gǎn.
    He had an ominous foreboding in his heart.

Origin

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.

预yùbeforehand
感gǎnfeel

预 means beforehand and 感 means feel, so the word names a feeling that comes before evidence.

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 預; 预 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ預yù
Same sound today

The traditional form 預 combines 予 for the sound and 頁 for the meaning; the simplified 预 is a later shorthand.

Open 预 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
咸
咸xián感gǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

Open 感 →
Appears in
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