愿意 (yuàn yì) — to be willing (to do sth), to want to do | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

愿意 (yuànyì) means 'be willing to' — it emphasizes readiness and consent, stronger than 想 ('would like to') and softer than 要 ('want/need') which can sound more demanding.

verb

to be willing (to do sth)to want to do

Examples

愿意？
Nǐ yuàn yì hé wǒ yì qǐ qù kàn diàn yǐng ma?
Are you willing to go see a movie with me?
愿意。
Wǒ yuàn yì bāng zhù tā xué xí zhōng wén.
I am willing to help him study Chinese.
愿意。
Tā bú yuàn yì yí gè rén qù chāo shì.
He is not willing to go to the supermarket alone.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

意yìintention

愿 expresses a wish, and 意 points to the mind or intention, so the word means being ready to do something.

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.

原心愿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

原

原yuán愿yuàn

Same sound today

愿 places 心 (heart) below 原, which supplies the sound yuán; the 心 part marks the sense of heart or feeling.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 500 Most Frequent Chinese Words HSK 2.0 Level 3 1000 Most Frequent Chinese Words Will & Intention 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.