予 (yǔ) - I, me & to give, to grant

予Tone 3

yǔ ｜ 4 strokes ｜ radical: 乛

与喻

予 · yǔ

I, me;

to give, to grant;

also used as a classical Chinese first person pronoun.

I, meto give, to grantalso used as a classical Chinese first person

Usage highlights

To giveTo grantTo awardTo bestowTo assignTo confer

Synonyms

  • 给— to give (more common in modern speech)
  • 授予— to confer, to award
  • 赋予— to endow, to bestow
  • 我— I, me (first person pronoun)

Antonyms

  • 取— to take (opposite of to give)
  • 夺— to seize, to take by force

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • I give you a gift (予你礼物).
  • The teacher grants permission (老师予以批准).
  • In classical texts, it means 'I' (予曰).
  • The government awards a prize (政府予以奖励).

Collocations

  • To give(予以)
  • To grant(给予)
  • To award(授予)
  • To bestow(赐予)
  • To assign(赋予)
  • To confer(准予)

Idioms

  • To take by force(予取予求)
  • To give and take(予夺)
  • To grant life and death(予夺生杀)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Used as a classical first-person pronoun in ancient Chinese texts, similar to 吾 and 我.
  • In modern usage, primarily appears in formal or literary contexts meaning 'to give' or 'to grant'.
  • Often used in compound words with a formal or official connotation.

FAQ