宽恕 (kuān shù) — to forgive

Definition

宽恕 is a formal verb for forgiving someone, often for serious offenses, and stresses letting go of blame. It is more weighty and written than the everyday 原谅, and similar to 饶恕 but without the 'spare a life' sense.

verb
to forgive

Examples

  • 宽恕？
    Nǐ kě yǐ kuān shù tā ma?
    Can you forgive him?
  • 宽恕。
    Wǒ jué dìng kuān shù tā de cuò wù.
    I decided to forgive his mistake.
  • 宽恕。
    Tā zhōng yú kuān shù le zì jǐ.
    He finally forgave himself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

宽kuānlenient
恕shùforgiving

“宽” lenient and “恕” forgiving combine to mean to pardon someone.

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 寬; 宽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánhouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
萈
萈huán寬kuān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寬 pairs 宀, a house, with 萈, a goat used for sound, to show a spacious house; the simplified 宽 is a later abbreviation.

Open 宽 →

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
如
如rú恕shù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

恕 combines 心, the heart, which gives the sense area, with 如, which provides the sound.

Open 恕 →
Appears in
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