Meaning
抚慰 means to comfort or console someone who is suffering, sad, or distressed. It carries a gentle, caring tone and often involves both emotional support and physical gestures like patting or stroking. The word emphasizes providing solace and relief from pain or worry.
Usage
抚慰 is more formal and literary than everyday comfort words like 安慰. It's commonly used in written Chinese, news reports about comforting victims or families, and formal speeches. The word often appears with objects like 心灵 (soul/heart), 伤痛 (pain), or specific people who need consoling.
Examples
- 01音乐能抚慰人们受伤的心灵。.Music can soothe people's wounded souls.
- 02总统前往灾区抚慰受灾群众。.The president went to the disaster area to comfort the affected people.
Characters
Common collocations
- 抚慰心灵to comfort the soul
- 抚慰伤痛to soothe the pain
- 得到抚慰to receive comfort
- 精神抚慰spiritual comfort
Antonyms
Origin
Both characters relate to comfort: 抚 originally depicted a hand stroking something gently, while 慰 combines the heart radical with phonetic components suggesting reassurance. Together they form a compound emphasizing gentle, caring comfort.