迎

• Pinyin: yíng
• Hanzi breakdown: 迎 = 辶 (walk/movement) + 卬 (face upward — phonetic and semantic: moving toward someone)

Meaning

To welcome; to greet; to go to meet someone. Also used as a prefix meaning 'facing towards' (e.g., 迎面 — head-on).

Used in both physical and ceremonial senses: physically moving to meet someone, and formally welcoming guests or visitors. Appears in compounds like 欢迎 (welcome), 迎接 (to receive/greet), 迎面 (head-on), and 迎合 (to cater to). Carries a warm, positive connotation of initiative and hospitality.

Examples

1. 国家元首专机抵达后，东道国外长率礼宾团队在停机坪上相迎，随后陪同前往国宾馆参加晚宴。 After the head of state’s plane arrived, the host country’s foreign minister led the protocol team to greet them on the tarmac, then accompanied them to the state guesthouse for a banquet.
2. 春节前后，闽南古村人声鼎沸，返乡游子陆续归来，长辈们早早在村口相迎，团圆场景格外动人。 Around the Spring Festival, the ancient village in southern Fujian is bustling with noise, as migrants return home one after another and elders wait at the village entrance to greet them, making the reunion scene especially moving.
3. 酒店要求管家在宾客抵达前十分钟站好位置，迎接每位入住客人。 The hotel requires butlers to take their positions ten minutes before guests arrive and greet every guest checking in.

Usage Guide

Context: ceremony, hospitality, social

Tone: warm

Do Say

• 寺里每年佛诞前后举行法会，住持率僧众在山门前列队相迎信众和游客。(Around Buddha's birthday each year, the temple holds a dharma assembly, and the abbot leads the monks to line up at the mountain gate and welcome devotees and visitors.)
• 新总部启用当天，董事长亲自在大堂入口迎候受邀嘉宾，赢得好评。(On the day the new headquarters opened, the chairman personally waited at the lobby entrance to welcome the invited guests, winning praise.)

Don't Say

• 我迎了他很久 — 迎 alone is rarely used with a duration complement; say 我等候他很久 (I waited for him a long time) or 我在门口等了他很久才迎到他 for the sense of finally greeting after waiting

Origin & History

迎 = 辶 (movement radical) + 卬 (phonetic component meaning to face upward/toward) — originally depicted someone walking forward to meet another person

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal