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慰问 (wèi wèn) — to express sympathy and comfort (to those in difficulty); to convey solicitous greetings

Definition

慰问 is a formal verb for sending sympathy or concern, often to people in difficulty or working hard. Stronger and more official than 安慰 (personal comfort); closer to 问候 (greetings) but aimed at those suffering or laboring.

verb
to express sympathy and comfort (to those in difficulty)to convey solicitous greetings

Examples

  • 慰问。
    Gōng sī lǐng dǎo jīng cháng wèi wèn yī xiàn gōng rén.
    Company leaders often visit frontline workers to express their concern.
  • 慰问，。
    Shōu dào wèi wèn xìn hòu, tā fēi cháng gǎn dòng.
    After receiving the letter of sympathy, he was very moved.
  • 。
    Hóng shí zì huì sòng lái wèi wèn jīn hé shēng huó yòng pǐn.
    The Red Cross sent condolence money and daily necessities.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

慰wèicomfort
问wèngreet

慰 gives comfort and 问 gives greeting or inquiry, so the word means to offer comfort and greetings.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
尉
尉wèi慰⁰wèi
Same sound today

慰 puts 心 (heart) beside 尉 to show a feeling of comfort, while 尉 gives the sound.

Open 慰 →

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 問; 问 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén問wèn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 問 combines 口 (mouth) with 門, which gives the sound; the simplified 问 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 问 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Greetings & Politeness

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