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预见 (yù jiàn) — (verb) to foresee, to predict; (noun) foresight, vision

Definition

预见 emphasizes the noun sense 'foresight' — the ability to judge future outcomes — more than 预测 or 预计, which focus on the act of forecasting. Use 想象 for purely hypothetical imagining, not prediction.

verb
to foreseeto predict
noun
foresightvision
Easily confused

Examples

  • 预见。
    Kē xué jiā yù jiàn le wèi lái de qì hòu biàn huà.
    Scientists foresaw future climate change.
  • 预见。
    Tā duì shì chǎng yǒu hěn qiáng de yù jiàn.
    He has strong foresight regarding the market.
  • 预见。
    Méi rén néng zhǔn què yù jiàn zhè cì xuǎn jǔ de jié guǒ.
    No one can accurately predict the outcome accurately predict the outcome of this election.

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
见jiànsee

预 means beforehand and 见 means see, so the word means to see or predict something in advance.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Thinking & Cognition

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.