Definition
愿 (yuàn) is a formal or literary verb meaning 'to wish' (as in blessings) or 'to be willing'. As 'to wish', it's more concise and formal than the everyday 希望 (xīwàng); as 'to be willing', it's more literary and less common than 愿意 (yuànyì), which is the usual spoken choice.
verb
to wishto hope (often used in blessings and formal expressions)to be willingto be ready (formal or literary)
Easily confused
- 原yuánlook-alikeoriginal, former
- 员yuánsound-alike(suffix) person; employee; member
- 远yuǎnsound-alikefar, distant (in space or time)
- 元yuánsound-alike(classifier) yuan, the basic unit of Chinese currency
- 圆yuánsound-alike(noun) circle
- 怨yuànsound-aliketo blame, to complain (with a sense of grievance)
- 园yuánsound-alikegarden; park; (in compounds) a place for a specific purpose (e.g., kindergarten, botanical garden)
- 冤yuānsound-alike(noun) injustice; grievance
Examples
- 愿。Wǒ yuàn nǐ tiāntiān kāixīn.I wish you happiness every day.
- 愿。Tā yuàn wèi cǐ fùchū dàijià.He is willing to pay the price for this.
- 愿。Wǒ yuàn nǐ yíqiè shùnlì.I wish you all the best.
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