缅怀 (miǎn huái) — to cherish the memory of (the deceased or past… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

缅怀 is a formal, reverent verb for honoring the memory of the deceased or a past era — stronger and more solemn than 怀念 (softer 'miss'), and more solemn than 纪念 (which can be a noun 'memento').

verb

to cherish the memory of (the deceased or past times)to commemorate with reverence

Examples

，缅怀。
Zài liè shì mù qián, wǒ men huái zhe chóng jìng de xīn qíng miǎn huái tā men.
At the martyrs' graves, we cherish their memory with reverence.
缅怀。
Lǎo jiào shòu xiě wén zhāng miǎn huái nà ge xué shù fán róng de nián dài.
The old professor wrote an article to fondly remember that era.
缅怀。
Qīng míng jié rén men yòng xiān huā miǎn huái shì qù de qīn rén.
During Qingming Festival, people honor their departed loved ones with flowers.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

怀huáicherish

缅 points to the far past, while 怀 means to cherish; together they mean remembering with reverence.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緬; 缅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

面

面miàn緬miǎn

Same sound today

For 缅, the traditional form 緬 pairs 糸 (silk) with 面 as the sound part.

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 懷; 怀 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

褱

褱huái懷huái

Same sound today

The traditional form 懷 uses 心 (heart) to show longing and 褱 for the sound; the simplified 怀 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Thinking & Cognition

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