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猜想 (cāi xiǎng) — to guess, to conjecture, to suppose; (mathematics) to hypothesize

Definition

猜想 (cāi xiǎng) emphasizes forming a mental picture of something unproven, stronger than 猜 ('to guess' in riddles/casual) and more tentative than 推测 ('to infer' from evidence). Used in everyday and scientific contexts (e.g., a hypothesis).

verb
to guessto conjectureto suppose(mathematics) to hypothesize

Examples

  • 猜想。
    Wǒ cāi xiǎng tā míng tiān bú huì lái.
    I guess he won't come tomorrow.
  • 猜想？
    Nǐ néng cāi xiǎng chū zhè ge mí yǔ de dá àn ma?
    Can you guess the answer to this riddle?
  • 猜想。
    Kē xué jiā cāi xiǎng zhè ge lǐ lùn shì zhèng què de.
    Scientists hypothesize that this theory is correct.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

猜cāiguess
想xiǎngthink

猜 and 想 both express mental guessing or thinking, together meaning to conjecture.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng猜cāi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

猜 pairs 犭, the dog radical (full form 犬), with 青 as the sound part.

Open 猜 →

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.

Open 想 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Thinking & Cognition

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.