想念 (xiǎng niàn) — to miss; to long for | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

想念 means to miss someone or something familiar (home, people, food). 思念 is a more literary near-synonym, often for people far away. 渴望 is stronger, for an intense craving or aspiration.

verb

to missto long for

Examples

，想念。
Wǒ lí kāi jiā yǐ hòu, cháng cháng xiǎng niàn fù mǔ.
After I left home, I often miss my parents.
想念？
Nǐ xiǎng niàn guò qù de shēng huó ma?
Do you miss your past life?
，想念。
Zài guó wài de shí hou, wǒ tè bié xiǎng niàn zhōng guó cài.
When I was abroad, I really missed Chinese food.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

念niànthink of

想 and 念 both express thinking of someone, together meaning to miss.

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.

相心想

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart, mind

Sound part声符shēngfú

相

相xiāng想xiǎng

Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

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

亼心念

亼今jīnupside-down mouth
心心xīnheart

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

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Emotions & Feelings 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.