欲 (yù): desire, appetite, passion
欲 (yù) is a Chinese character meaning “desire.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 谷 (phonetic) and 欠 (semantic). It ranks #1044 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 欲 lack. Its radical form 欠 (yawn) appears in many related characters such as 次 (cì, next in sequence), 欢 (huān, hubbub), 歌 (gē, song).
Definitions
- desire
- appetite
- passion
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 欲
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 随心所欲 | suí xīn suǒ yù | (idiom) to follow one's heart's desires |
| 性欲 | xìng yù | sexual desire |
| 为所欲为 | wéi suǒ yù wéi | (idiom) to do whatever one pleases |
| 禁欲 | jìn yù | to suppress desire |
| 痛不欲生 | tòng bù yù shēng | to be so in pain as to not want to live |
| 蠢蠢欲动 | chǔn chǔn yù dòng | to begin to stir (idiom) |
| 昏昏欲睡 | hūn hūn yù shuì | drowsy |
| 摇摇欲坠 | yáo yáo yù zhuì | tottering |
| 畅所欲言 | chàng suǒ yù yán | lit. fluently saying all one wants (idiom) |
| 情欲 | qíng yù | lust |
| 欲擒故纵 | yù qín gù zòng | In order to capture, one must let loose. |
| 跃跃欲试 | yuè yuè yù shì | to be eager to give sth a try (idiom) |
| 贪欲 | tān yù | greed |
| 肉欲 | ròu yù | carnal desire |
| 私欲 | sī yù | selfish desire |
欲 appears in 82 compound words: 28 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 38 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 欲 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (32)
ready to start wriggling; ready to make trouble; be restless and about to make trouble
to follow what one's heart desires; to do as one likes; to act at one's pleasure; seventy years old
to be on the verge of eruption (idiom); (of the sun) to emerge in all its brilliance
to cleanse one's mind of distracting thoughts and limit one's worldly desires
to follow what one's heart desires; to do as one likes; to act at one's pleasure; seventy years old
to be on the verge of eruption (idiom); (of the sun) to emerge in all its brilliance
ready to start wriggling; ready to make trouble; be restless and about to make trouble
to cleanse one's mind of distracting thoughts and limit one's worldly desires
Showing 12 of 32 idioms containing 欲.
Example Sentences
他求知欲很强，总是不断学习和探索。
Tā qiúzhī yù hěn qiáng, zǒng shì bùduàn xuéxí hé tànsuǒ.
He has a strong desire for knowledge and is always learning and exploring.
...光耀:豪宅买家实力充裕 加税未必阻入市意欲
. . . guāng yào : háo zhái mǎi jiā shí lì chōng yù jiā shuì wèi bì zǔ rù shì yì yù
... Guangyao: Luxury home buyers are strong and tax increases may not hinder market enthusiasm
...批日本军国主义的历史源流与现实危害:蠢蠢欲动 借机复燃
. . . pī rì běn jūn guó zhǔ yì de lì shǐ yuán liú yǔ xiàn shí wēi hài : chǔn chǔn yù dòng jiè jī fù rán
... Criticize the historical origin and practical harm of Japanese militarism: ready to take the opportunity to rekindle
西甲|巴塞正式启动买拉舒福特谈判 传欲压价 曼联企硬
xī jiǎ bā sāi zhèng shì qǐ dòng mǎi lā shū fú tè tán pàn chuán yù yā jià 曼 lián qǐ yìng
La Liga | Barcelona officially launched negotiations to buy Rashford, and it is rumored that it wants to suppress the price, and Manchester United is hard
记者观察:食品贴上警示标签 智利欲全民瘦身?
jì zhě guàn chá shí pǐn tiē shǎng jǐng shì biāo qiān zhì lì yù quán mín shòu shēn ?
Reporter's observation: food labeled with a warning that Chile wants to slim down the whole population?
列国鉴|记者观察:食品贴上警示标签 智利欲全民瘦身..
liè guó jiàn jì zhě guàn chá shí pǐn tiē shǎng jǐng shì biāo qiān zhì lì yù quán mín shòu shēn . .
China's foreign policy: Chile wants to reduce the number of people in the country...
老婆怀孕没了性欲我该怎么办？
Lǎopó huáiyùn méile xìngyù wǒ gāi zěnmebàn?
My wife has no libido since she got pregnant. What can I do?
我已经无欲无求了！
Wǒ yǐjīng wú yù wú qiú le!
What more could I want?
没有欲望就等于拥有。
Méiyǒu yùwàng jiù děngyú yōngyǒu.
Not wanting is the same as having.
看见新鲜龙虾，我有了食欲。
Kànjiàn xīnxiān lóngxiā, wǒ yǒule shíyù.
Seeing the fresh lobster made me hungry.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What are common words containing 欲?
What characters sound the same as 欲 (yù)?
Is 欲 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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