Meaning of 愿望
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- desire
- wish
How to use 愿望
愿望 is a noun for a wish or hope, often a personal or long-term one. It pairs with verbs like 有 (yǒu), 实现 (shíxiàn, to come true) and 许 (xǔ, to make a wish). Example: 我的愿望实现了。 (Wǒ de yuànwàng shíxiàn le.) My wish came true.
愿 (yuàn) has 心 (heart) at the bottom, so it is something your heart wants. 望 (wàng) means to look toward, so 愿望 is the thing your heart is looking toward: a wish.
Common mistake: Learners often use 愿望 as a verb, as in 我愿望去中国. Use 希望 (xīwàng) or 想 (xiǎng) for the verb 'to hope' or 'to want'. Also keep 愿 (yuàn, fourth tone) apart from 原 (yuán, second tone), which has no 心 underneath.
愿望 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.
愿 yuàn · wish · 14 strokes
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望 wàng · full moon · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 愿望.
| 愿意 | yuànyì | to wish; to want |
| 希望 | xīwàng | to hope; a hope; a wish |
| 志愿者 | zhìyuànzhě | volunteer |
| 志愿 | zhìyuàn | aspiration; ambition |
| 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 |
| 自愿 | zìyuàn | voluntary |
| 意愿 | yìyuàn | aspiration; wish (for) |
| 心愿 | xīnyuàn | cherished desire; dream |
Questions about 愿望
What does 愿望 mean?
愿望 (yuànwàng) means "desire; wish" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 愿望?
愿望 is made of 2 characters: 愿 (14 strokes), 望 (11 strokes). That is 25 strokes in total.
Is 愿望 an HSK word?
Yes. 愿望 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 愿望 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 愿望 is written 願望.
What is the difference between 愿望 and 希望?
愿望 is only a noun and means a wish you hold. 希望 can be a verb (to hope) or a noun (hope), and it is more common in everyday speech. You can say 我希望明天不下雨 but not 我愿望明天不下雨.
How do you say 'make a wish' in Chinese?
Say 许愿 (xǔyuàn) or 许个愿望 (xǔ ge yuànwàng). People often say this when blowing out birthday candles, for example 快许个愿吧 (Kuài xǔ ge yuàn ba), meaning 'Hurry and make a wish.'