期望, 希望, 渴望

I thought I was a pessimist :-) Wenlin (c) definitions and 例子 (lìzi) examples : 期望 qīwàng v. expect/hope earnestly | 父母对我期望很高。 (Fùmǔ duì wǒ ∼ hěn gāo.) My parents place high hopes on me. / n. expectation; hope 希望 xīwàng v./n. hope; wish | 大有成功的希望 (dà yǒu chénggōng de ∼) have high hopes of success 渴望 kěwàng v. thirst/long for | 那个男孩儿渴望当兵。 (Nàge nánháir ∼ dāngbīng) The boy is longing to join the army. There's also : 盼望 pànwàng v. hope/long for; look forward to 悬望 xuánwàng v. look forward eagerly

Dear henning, thanks for asking a question which has troubled me before. Unfortunately, consulting my precious dictionary hasn't shed any light for me. Because the other two expressions all define themselves with reference to 希望 . Aaargghh! But for what it's worth -- and in the hopes that a native speaker (eg. cassie, or Jenny Zhu or zhujiaojie or connie can help... or even your precious spouse!), here are the definitions and examples found in my very simple dictionary: 期望 qi1wang4 (动）对将来的前途或事物抱有希望和等待。 Examples: 我期望我的儿子能考上大学。 他们都期望着成功的到来。 我不会辜负老师对我的期望。 期望过高，往往回失望。 希望 xi1wang4 (动) 心里想要达到某种目的或出现某种情况。 老师希望所有的同学都能取得好成绩。 我希望能够找到一份好工作。 父母非常希望他能出国留学。 妹妹从小就希望能成为一名画家。 渴望 ke3wang4 (动） 非常希望 渴望和平。 我们都渴望能尽快见到他。 山区的孩子们渴望能学电脑。 孩子们眼睛里充满了对知识的渴望。 I have no confidence whatsoever in suggesting this, but I think that 希望 comes closest to the English word "hope", which is a state of mind which may go beyond what is realistic or reasonable. It's the idea of "hopes and aspirations" which go beyond the rules. For me, the word 期望 seems to be the most neutral meaning, ie (simply) "to be expecting, to be waiting for, to be looking forward to". Cf. 期待. My gut feeling (which is nearly ALWAYS wrong! vorsicht!!!) is that 渴望 is somewhere in-between, because the character 渴 (ke3) connotes some kind of thirst or longing. So maybe 渴望 conveys a sense of looking forward to something, with a sense of urgency and hunger or perhaps deep longing. Sorry I can't be of more help! If the Chinese definitions/ examples give dear Mrs Henning any bright ideas for teaching us, please share it with me! Thank you SO much!

Google translates those respectively as : 期望, expect (46.2 million occurences) 希望 hope (609 millions) 渴望 desire (46.5 millions) 希望 is the most frequent and I guess the more neutral / generic.

sorry aunty68, I had a different gut feeling which I wanted to confirm with a search...

Oops!

Hmmm... but goulniky, how can we be sure that Chinese people aren't simply invested with a very high degree of hope? Hope in the sense of "The Audacity of Hope"...

Hi guys, 期望，希望and 渴望do have difference. When you want to express your expect for someone or something's future, you can use期望. For example, 父母总是期望孩子们能有一个美好的未来。Parents always expect that their children can have a bright future. When you want to express hope/wish, you can use希望. For example, 我希望你能帮我一个忙。 I hope you can do me a favor. When you want to express long for、 eager to do something or thirst for, you can use渴望. For example, 演员们渴望喝彩。Actors thirst for acclaim.

Thanks a lot, Auntie, Goulnik, & Casie! I think the different explanations complement each other while converging on their core towards Casie's! I will keep my eyes further open to get a better feeling for the usage.