Chinese word

怀念

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuái niàn

Meaning

  • verbmiss

Example

我很怀念小时候的生活。wǒ hěn huái niàn xiǎo shí hòu de shēng huó

I really miss how life was when I was a child.

Illustration for 怀念 (miss)

More examples

退休后，他常常怀念年轻时的奋斗日子。tuì xiū hòu tā cháng cháng huái niàn nián qīng shí de fèn dòu rì zi

After retiring, he often misses the days of striving in his youth.

Core concept

A warm, slightly wistful pull toward a person or period that belongs to the past.

Common phrases

  • 怀念童年huái niàn tóng nián

    miss childhood

  • 怀念家人huái niàn jiā rén

    miss one's family

  • 怀念那段日子huái niàn nà duàn rì zi

    miss those days

Similar words

想念xiǎng niàn: Feel a strong wish to see someone again or to have something from the past again.
想起xiáng qǐ: Bring a person, event, or detail back to mind.
记得jì de: Know and retain a fact or past experience so it can be recalled later.

Definition in Chinese

想起过去的人或时光并生出恋慕和惋惜的感情。xiáng qǐ guò qù de rén huò shí guāng bìng shēng chū liàn mù hé wǎn xī de gǎn qíng

Word origin

怀 (huái, "hold in the heart") + 念 (niàn, "think of") combines the ideas of keeping someone or something in the heart and thinking of it with lasting feeling.

Usage tips

  • A date, fact, or name can be recalled without this feeling, but this verb normally presents the past as personally precious and no longer fully present.

Other meanings

  • remember fondlyverb
  • mournverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word