Meaning of 应
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to agree (to do sth)
- should
- ought to
- must
- (legal) shall
- surname Ying
- Taiwan pr. [Ying4]
- to answer
- to respond
- to comply with
- to deal or cope with
How to use 应
In the first tone yīng, 应 means should or ought to, and is most common in 应该 (yīnggāi) and 应当 (yīngdāng). In the fourth tone yìng, it means to respond or cope, as in 反应 (fǎnyìng) and 应用 (yìngyòng). Example: 你应该早点睡。(Nǐ yīnggāi zǎo diǎn shuì.) You should go to bed earlier.
应 looks like a shelter 广 with a few strokes inside, like someone under a roof who should answer when called. Think of it as the place where you respond to what you ought to do.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 应 as yīng, but 反应 (fǎnyìng), 适应 (shìyìng) and 应用 (yìngyòng) all use the fourth tone yìng. Also note that in 答应 (dāying) it is usually said with a neutral tone.
应 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.
应 yīng · to agree · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 应.
| 应该 | yīnggāi | ought to; should; must |
| 答应 | dāying | to answer; to respond; to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 反应 | fǎnyìng | to react; to respond |
| 适应 | shìyìng | to adapt; to fit |
| 应当 | yīngdāng | should; ought to |
| 应用 | yìngyòng | to put to use; to apply; practical; applied (science, linguistics etc) |
| 供应 | gōngyìng | to supply; to provide (goods, services etc) |
| 相应 | xiāngyìng | to correspond; answering (one another) |
| 对应 | duìyìng | to correspond (to); to be equivalent to; to be a counterpart to |
| 回应 | huíyìng | to respond; response |
| 应对 | yìngduì | to answer; to reply; to handle; to deal with |
| 应急 | yìngjí | to respond to an emergency; to meet a contingency |
Questions about 应
What does 应 mean?
应 (yīng) means "to agree (to do sth); should" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 应?
应 is made of 1 character: 应 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 应 an HSK word?
Yes. 应 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 应 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 应 is written 應.
How do I know whether 应 is yīng or yìng?
If it means should or ought to, it is yīng, as in 应该. If it means respond, react, apply or cope, it is yìng, as in 反应 and 应用.
What is the difference between 应该 and 应当?
Both mean should. 应该 (yīnggāi) is the everyday word, while 应当 (yīngdāng) sounds more formal and appears more in writing or official language.