How to write 望 (wàng, “to hope”)
望 (wàng), an HSK 2 character, means “to hope”, “full moon” and “to expect”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 3 in the 2021 standard. China and Japan order its strokes differently: Chinese stroke 9, going rightwards, is the 10th in Japanese schools; Chinese stroke 10, going downwards, is the 9th in Japanese schools. On its own it is an HSK 6 word; it also forms 希望 (“to hope”), 失望 (“disappointed”) and 看望 (“to pay a visit to”). Japanese reads it bou, “ambition”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- wàng
- Strokes
- 11
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 月 (“moon or flesh”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
As a top-bottom character it splits into 亡月, strokes 1–7; 王 (“king or jade”), strokes 8–11, written the top first.
- top leftdown and right
- top leftrightwards
- top leftdown and right → downwards → up and right
- topdownwards
- toprightwards → downwards → leftwards
- toprightwards
- centerrightwards
- leftrightwards
- bottom leftrightwards
- centerdownwards
- bottom leftrightwards
Two stroke orders
Japan and China order its strokes differently: 2 strokes sit in another place. Japanese 9 = Chinese 10; Japanese 10 = Chinese 9.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| wàng fourth tone | to hope; full moon; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance) | — | 希望 失望 看望 愿望 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 3
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 112 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 望
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope HSK 6 |
| 希望 | xīwàng | to hope; a hope HSK 2 |
| 失望 | shīwàng | disappointed; to lose hope HSK 4 |
| 看望 | kànwàng | to pay a visit to; to see (sb) HSK 5 |
| 愿望 願望 | yuànwàng | desire; wish HSK 5 |
| 期望 | qīwàng | to have expectations; to earnestly hope HSK 6 |
| 渴望 | kěwàng | to thirst for; to long for HSK 6 |
| 绝望 絕望 | juéwàng | to despair; to give up all hope HSK 6 |
| 欲望 慾望 | yùwàng | desire; longing HSK 6 |
| 盼望 | pànwàng | to hope for; to look forward to HSK 6 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: