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凝望 (níng wàng) — to gaze at, to stare fixedly at

Definition

A literary verb meaning 'to gaze at / stare fixedly at' — more formal and intense than the everyday 看 or 望, emphasizing prolonged, absorbed looking.

verb
to gaze atto stare fixedly at

Examples

  • ，凝望。
    Tā zhàn zài chuāng qián, jiǔ jiǔ dì níng wàng zhe yuǎn fāng de qún shān.
    He stood at the window, gazing fixedly at the distant mountains.
  • 凝望，。
    Tā níng wàng zhe nà zhāng jiù zhào piàn, xiǎng qǐ le xǔ duō wǎng shì.
    She stared at the old photo, recalling many past events.
  • 凝望，。
    Hái zi níng wàng zhe yè kōng zhōng shǎn shuò de xīng xing, xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le hào qí.
    The child gazed at the twinkling stars in the night sky, filled with curiosity.

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.

凝níngconcentrated
望wànglook

凝 suggests concentrated and 望 means look, so together they give a fixed gaze.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
冫Written in full as仌bīngice
Sound part声符shēngfú
疑
疑yí凝níng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

凝 pairs 冫 (ice, also written 仌) with 疑, which gives the sound.

Open 凝 →

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

  • 臣臣chéneye
  • 𡈼𡈼𡈼person standing on the ground

望 originally showed 臣 (eye) beside 𡈼 (person standing on the ground): a person standing up and looking off into the distance. Later 月 was added, and the 臣 part became 亡.

Open 望 →
Appears in
Senses

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