宽慰 (kuānwèi)

To comfort someone means to relieve their distress, worry, or sorrow, making them feel more at ease and less troubled.

Meanings

[verb] to comfort; to console; to reassure; to relieve someone's worry
[adjective] comforted; relieved; at ease

Example Sentences

朋友的鼓励让她感到了一丝宽慰。 Péngyǒu de gǔlì ràng tā gǎndàole yī sī kuānwèi. Her friend's encouragement gave her a sense of comfort.

听到孩子平安到达的消息，父母心里终于宽慰了。 Tīngdào háizi píng'ān dàodá de xiāoxi, fùmǔ xīnlǐ zhōngyú kuānwèile. Upon hearing the news that the child had arrived safely, the parents finally felt relieved.

她用温柔的话语宽慰了悲伤的朋友。 Tā yòng wēnróu de huàyǔ kuānwèile bēishāng de péngyǒu. She comforted her grieving friend with gentle words.

他的话让我感到无比宽慰，消除了我所有的顾虑。 Tā de huà ràng wǒ gǎndào wúbǐ kuānwèi, xiāochúle wǒ suǒyǒu de gùlǜ. His words made me feel extremely comforted and dispelled all my worries.

老人得知子女都很好，心中感到十分宽慰。 Lǎorén dé zhī zǐnǚ dōu hěn hǎo, xīnzhōng gǎndào shífēn kuānwèi. The elderly person felt very comforted upon learning that all their children were doing well.

虽然结果不理想，但努力过了，心里还是有些宽慰。 Suīrán jiéguǒ bù lǐxiǎng, dàn nǔlì guòle, xīnlǐ háishì yǒuxiē kuānwèi. Although the result was not ideal, having made the effort still brought some comfort.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
感到宽慰 (gǎndào kuānwèi)	to feel comforted/relieved
给予宽慰 (jǐyǔ kuānwèi)	to offer comfort
一丝宽慰 (yī sī kuānwèi)	a glimmer of comfort
心里宽慰 (xīnlǐ kuānwèi)	feel relieved in one's heart
宽慰人心 (kuānwèi rénxīn)	to comfort people's hearts
深感宽慰 (shēn gǎn kuānwèi)	to feel deeply comforted

Usage Notes

宽慰 combines 宽 (wide/broad, implying relief from constriction) and 慰 (to comfort/console). It conveys a sense of relief from emotional burden -- like a tightness in the chest being released. It is slightly more formal and literary than 安慰 (to comfort/console), which is more commonly used in casual speech.

Both 宽慰 and 安慰 mean to comfort, but 宽慰 tends to emphasize the resulting feeling of relief and ease, whereas 安慰 focuses more on the act of comforting. 宽慰 is often used when worry has been genuinely resolved rather than just temporarily soothed.

Memory Hook

宽 (wide/spacious) + 慰 (comfort) -- when your heart feels comforted, it's like it opened up from narrow anxiety to wide, spacious relief.