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勇于 (yǒng yú) — to dare to; to be brave enough to

Definition

勇于 is a formal verb meaning 'to dare to' / 'to have the courage to' — used in writing, stronger than the everyday 敢 and more literary than the near-synonym 敢于. It must precede a verb.

verb
to dare toto be brave enough to

Examples

  • 勇于。
    Wǒ men bì xū yǒng yú miàn duì kùn nan.
    We must have the courage to face difficulties.
  • 勇于。
    Tā yǒng yú chéng dān zì jǐ de zé rèn.
    He dares to take responsibility for himself.
  • 勇于，。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi yǒng yú chuàng xīn, bú duàn jìn bù.
    We should dare to innovate and make continuous progress.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

勇yǒngbrave
于yúin, at

勇 carries the sense of bravery, while 于 points toward the action involved, together meaning to dare to do something.

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
力力lìstrong
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng勇yǒng
Same sound today

勇 pairs 甬, which gives the sound, with 力, a strength part, to mean brave and strong.

Open 勇 →

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

  • 一一yīflat stream of air
  • 丂丂kǎoto exhale

The old shape of 于 may have pictured an ancient wind instrument. Another explanation reads 一 as a flat stream of air and 丂 as an exhaling mark.

Open 于 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & TraitsWill & Intention

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