HSK 5 · Society

义务 yìwù “duty” in Chinese

Traditional 義務

What 义务 means

  1. duty
  2. obligation
  3. volunteer (work etc)

How to say 义务

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale义yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale务wù4th tone, falling

义务 in a sentence

  1. 遵守法律是我们的义务。

    Zūnshǒu fǎlǜ shì wǒmen de yìwù.

    It’s our duty to obey the law.

    Sentence #775461 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 我并没有义务帮助你。

    Wǒ bìng méiyǒu yìwù bāngzhù nǐ.

    I’m under no obligation to help you.

    Sentence #9989940 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 这是您的义务。

    Zhè shì nín de yìwù.

    That’s your duty.

    Sentence #4263781 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 义务 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 义 (yì) with each of its parts in a different colour
义yìjustice
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 乂to govern · yìSound part

⺷ hints at the meaning (sheep); 乂 (yì) hints at the sound. Compare it with yì.

The character 务 (wù) with each of its parts in a different colour
务wùaffair
  • 夂go · zhǐ
  • 力strength · lì

Memory aidPicture setting off 夂 with all your strength 力: to work at a task.

How to write 义务

义 3 strokes · 务 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

义务 (yìwù) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 义务 (yìwù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 义务

Words with 义

意义yìyì · sense贬义biǎnyì · negative connotation正义zhèngyì · justice定义dìngyì · definition含义hányì · meaning主义zhǔyì · -ism见义勇为jiànyìyǒngwéi · to act bravely for a just cause

Words with 务

服务员fúwùyuán · waiter服务fúwù · to serve任务rènwu · mission家务jiāwù · household duties业务yèwù · business商务shāngwù · business公务gōngwù · official business事务shìwù · affairs职务zhíwù · post财务cáiwù · financial affairs

More words: Society & Law

外交wàijiāo · diplomacy王子wángzǐ · prince违反wéifǎn · to violate (a law)移民yímín · to immigrate战争zhànzhēng · war证件zhèngjiàn · certificate证据zhèngjù · evidence政府zhèngfǔ · government

FAQs

义务 (yìwù) means “duty” or “obligation”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it yìwù: yì with a 4th tone, then wù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 义务 is written 義務. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiwu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 义务 from the suggestions. Typing yiwu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
义务 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.