望
full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar)
Closest English meanings
hope·look·gaze
The Calligrapher — Wáng Qià 王洽
Eastern Jin calligrapher of running script, a leading figure among the Wang family masters.
Eastern Jin calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 王导族子. Eastern Jin dynasty
Cultural Story
The graph 望 shows a moon nearing full above a man's eye, the act of gazing upward. In the 楚辭, Qu Yuan climbs a height to look homeward. The Mid-Autumn moon is still the occasion for 望, that leaning-forward act of looking and wanting, a woman in the 詩經 waiting by a river for the one who does not return.
Common words & phrases
- 希望 hope · wish · expect
- 愿望 wish · desire · aspiration
- 看望 visit · call on · see
- 盼望 look forward to · hope for
- 失望 disappointed · lose hope
Read the story behind the character
望 is the verb behind nearly every small human reaching: 希望 you pass the exam, 盼望 a letter that does not come, 失望 when it doesn't. On Sundays families 看望 an aging parent in the countryside. The word sits in text messages and on hospital walls. It is desire with its eyes open, aimed at something just out of reach.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Wáng Qià 王洽, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.