愿

願
yuàn
verb HSK 5 #1,093

Meanings

  1. 1 wish; desire
  2. 2 to be willing

Examples

HSK 3
Wǒ yuànyì bāng nǐ.
I'm willing to help you.
HSK 5
Yuàn nǐ de mèngxiǎng dōu néng shíxiàn!
May all your dreams come true!
HSK 5
Zhìyuànzhě bāng le hěnduō máng.
The volunteers helped a lot.

Tips

usage
愿 is used in: 愿意 (willing), 志愿 (aspiration/volunteer), 心愿 (wish), 自愿 (voluntary), 许愿 (to make a wish). 愿意 is essential - it's used in Chinese wedding vows (你愿意吗?).

Components

radical
心 xīn
heart; mind
Bottom radical 心 in its full four-stroke form anchors 愿 as a mental/emotional state - the wish or vow that wells up from the heart. The heart radical groups 愿 with kindred mind-verbs like 想 (think), 念 (long for), 怀 (cherish), 恩 (gratitude) - all emotions surfacing from inside.
phonetic
原 yuán
source; original
Top-left phonetic 原 supplies the sound - yuán shifted to yuàn through tone-change only. 原 itself depicts a spring 泉 emerging from a cliff 厂, the "source" of water. As phonetic in 愿, it gives the same vowel and consonant; same series produces 源 (yuán, source) and 愿 simply adds 心 to specify the heart-source: a heartfelt wish.

Stroke Order

愿 yuàn