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疑虑 (yí lǜ) — doubt; misgivings; to have doubts; to hesitate

Definition

疑虑 means lingering worry or misgivings — the unsettled feelings that stay with you, stronger than 怀疑 (a single act of doubting) and closer to 顾虑 in meaning, but more about doubt than practical worry.

doubtmisgivingsto have doubtsto hesitate

Examples

  • 疑虑。
    Tā duì zhè ge jì huà hái yǒu hěn duō yí lǜ.
    He still has many doubts about this plan.
  • ，疑虑。
    Jīng guò tǎo lùn, wǒ yí lǜ tā de néng lì.
    After discussion, I doubted his ability.
  • 疑虑。
    Tā de yí lǜ zuì zhōng bèi zhèng míng shì duō yú de.
    Her misgivings ultimately proved to be unnecessary.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

疑yídoubt
虑lǜworry

疑 means doubt and 虑 means worry, so it describes hesitating with misgivings.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 大大dàstanding human figure
  • 夂夂zhǐtilted head with open mouth
  • 丨丨gǔncane

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

Open 疑 →

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 慮; 虑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
思思sīto think
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū慮lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 慮 puts 思 (think) with 虍, which gives the sound; the simplified 虑 is a later shorthand.

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

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