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怀念 (huái niàn) — to cherish the memory of; to think of with affection; to miss (someone/something from the past)

Definition

怀念 focuses on warm nostalgia for the past (people, places, times gone by). It's gentler and more sentimental than 思念, which misses someone/something currently far away.

verb
to cherish the memory ofto think of with affectionto miss (someone/something from the past)

Examples

  • 怀念。
    Wǒ cháng cháng huái niàn dà xué shí de nà duàn shí guāng.
    I often cherish the memory of that time in college.
  • 怀念。
    Tā huái niàn gù xiāng de qīn rén hé péng you.
    She misses her family and friends back in her hometown.
  • ，怀念。
    Měi yí gè qiū tiān, tā dōu huì huái niàn tóng nián de nà ge xiǎo yuàn zi.
    Every autumn, he thinks fond memories of that little courtyard from his childhood come back to 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.

怀huáicherish
念niànthink of

怀念 is 怀 (cherish) and 念 (think of) together, meaning to miss someone fondly.

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 懷; 怀 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái懷huái
Same sound today

The traditional form 懷 uses 心 (heart) to show longing and 褱 for the sound; the simplified 怀 is a later shorthand.

Open 怀 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

念 combines 今, an upside-down mouth, with 心, the heart, to listen to one's heart.

Open 念 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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