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唤起 (huàn qǐ) — to arouse, to evoke, to awaken (a feeling, memory, or action)

Definition

唤起 focuses on stirring up an inner response — feelings, memories, or awareness. Pairs with 激发 (potential/creativity) and 引发 (a causal event), while 唤醒 is literally waking someone from sleep.

verb
to arouseto evoketo awaken (a feeling, memory, or action)

Examples

  • 唤起。
    Zhè shǒu gē huàn qǐ le wǒ duì gù xiāng de sī niàn.
    This song evoked my longing for my hometown.
  • 唤起。
    Zhèng fǔ de xīn zhèng cè huàn qǐ le mín zhòng de huán bǎo yì shí.
    The government's new policy aroused the public's environmental awareness.
  • 唤起。
    Nà cì shì gù huàn qǐ le rén men duì jiāo tōng ān quán de zhòng shì.
    That accident evoked people's attention to traffic safety.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

唤huàncall
起qǐup/awake

唤 (call) and 起 (up/awake) together mean call something into action.

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 喚; 唤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
奐
奐huàn喚huàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 喚 pairs 口 (mouth) with 奐, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 唤 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 唤 →

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

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

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