应允 (yīng yǔn) — to assent, to consent, to agree (to a request or proposal)

Definition

应允 means 'to assent / consent' to a request or proposal — often used when a superior or authority figure formally agrees to grant something. Note the reading yīng, not yìng.

verb
to assentto consentto agree (to a request or proposal)

Examples

  • 应允。
    Fù qīn zhōng yú yīng yǔn le tā de qǐng qiú.
    Father finally consented to his request.
  • 应允。
    Lǐng dǎo yīng yǔn le zhè xiàng jì huà.
    The leader approved this plan.
  • 应允。
    Tā yīng yǔn huì àn shí wán chéng gōng zuò.
    She promised to finish the work on time.

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.

应yìngagree
允yǔnpermit

应 suggests responding or agreeing, and 允 means allowing or consenting; together they express giving assent.

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 應; 应 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
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.

Open 应 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

允 is drawn as a person with the hands held behind the back.

Open 允 →

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