意欲 (yì yù) — intention; volition

Definition

A formal/literary noun for one's inner volition or desire — the mindset behind an action, not the action itself. Closer in register to 意志 (willpower) than to casual words like 想法.

noun
intentionvolition
Easily confused

Examples

  • 意欲。
    Tā yǒu hěn qiáng de xué xí yì yù.
    He has a strong desire to learn.
  • 意欲。
    Tā de yì yù shì xiǎng bāng zhù gèng duō de rén.
    Her intention is to help more people.
  • 意欲。
    Zhè zhǒng yì yù tuī dòng le zhěng gè jì huà de shí shī.
    This willpower drove the implementation of the entire plan.

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.

意yìintention
欲yùdesire

“意” and “欲” both point to intention, together meaning volition.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ欲yù
Same sound today

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

Open 欲 →

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