Meaning of 希望
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to hope
- a hope; a wish
How to use 希望
希望 works as a verb meaning to hope, often followed by a whole clause, and as a noun meaning a hope. It is very common in everyday speech and polite wishes. Example: 我希望明天不下雨。(Wǒ xīwàng míngtiān bú xià yǔ.) I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.
Think of 希 (xī) as something rare you wish for, and 望 (wàng) as looking far into the distance. When you hope, you look toward something rare that you want to come true.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 希望 for strong wishes about impossible things, like "I wish I were a bird." Chinese usually prefers 要是……就好了 for that, since 希望 suggests something that could really happen. Also keep the tones straight: first tone xī, then fourth tone wàng.
希望 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
希 xī · rare · 7 strokes
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望 wàng · full moon · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 希望.
| 愿望 | yuànwàng | desire; wish |
| 失望 | shīwàng | disappointed; to lose hope |
| 看望 | kànwàng | to pay a visit to; to see (sb) |
| 渴望 | kěwàng | to thirst for; to long for |
| 期望 | qīwàng | to have expectations; to earnestly hope |
| 绝望 | juéwàng | to despair; to give up all hope |
| 盼望 | pànwàng | to hope for; to look forward to |
| 望见 | wàngjiàn | to espy; to spot |
| 指望 | zhǐwàng | to count on; to hope for; prospect; hope |
| 欲望 | yùwàng | desire; longing; appetite; craving |
| 望远镜 | wàngyuǎnjìng | telescope (CL:部[bu4]); binoculars (CL:副[fu4]) |
| 探望 | tànwàng | to visit; to call on sb |
Questions about 希望
What does 希望 mean?
希望 (xīwàng) means "to hope; a hope; a wish" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 希望?
希望 is made of 2 characters: 希 (7 strokes), 望 (11 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 希望 an HSK word?
Yes. 希望 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 希望 and 愿望?
希望 can be a verb or a noun, so you can say 我希望 (I hope). 愿望 (yuànwàng) is only a noun meaning a wish or desire, like a birthday wish, so you cannot say 我愿望.
How do I say "there is hope" or "no hope" with 希望?
Use 有希望 (yǒu xīwàng) for "there is hope" and 没有希望 (méiyǒu xīwàng) for "there is no hope." For example, 他还有希望。(Tā hái yǒu xīwàng.) There is still hope for him.