应 (yìng) — to respond, to answer; to comply with, to agree (to do sth); to deal with, to cope with
Definition
In this sense 应 (yìng) means 'to respond' or 'to deal with' (应约, 应对). It is a more formal written verb than the colloquial 答应 ('to answer / agree to do').
verb
to respondto answerto comply withto agree (to do sth)to deal withto cope with
Easily confused
Examples
- ，应。Tā qiāo le qiāo mén, lǐ miàn yìng le yī shēng.He knocked on the door, and someone inside responded with a sound.
- 应，。Tā yìng yuē ér lái, zhǔn shí cān jiā le huì yì.She came as promised and attended the meeting on time.
- ，。Miàn duì tū fā qíng kuàng, tā lěng jìng yìng duì.Facing the emergency, he calmly dealt with it.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 應; 应 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹應yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 應 pairs 心 (heart) with 䧹 as a sound part; the simplified 应 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the original components.
Appears in
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