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宽慰 (kuān wèi) — to comfort, to console (such that one feels relieved and at ease)

Definition

A verb meaning to comfort someone so they feel relieved and at ease. Often used reflexively (感到宽慰 = 'feel comforted') or transitively (宽慰某人) when consoling someone going through hardship.

verb
to comfortto console (such that one feels relieved and at ease)

Examples

  • ，宽慰。
    Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā zhōng yú gǎn dào le yì xiē kuān wèi.
    After hearing this good news, he finally felt some relief.
  • 宽慰。
    Tā de huà ràng wǒ hěn kuān wèi.
    Her words gave me great comfort.
  • 宽慰。
    Wǒ xiě le yì fēng xìn qù kuān wèi tā.
    I wrote a letter to console him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

宽kuānrelief
慰wèicomfort

宽 relief and 慰 comfort together console 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xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
尉
尉wèi慰⁰wèi
Same sound today

慰 puts 心 (heart) beside 尉 to show a feeling of comfort, while 尉 gives the sound.

Open 慰 →
Appears in
Communication & SpeechEmotions & Feelings

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