verb HSK 5
Traditional 安撫
ān
to placate · to pacify · to soothe · to comfort

Meaning

安抚 means to calm someone down or ease their anxieties, typically when they are upset, worried, or agitated. It emphasizes bringing a sense of peace and stability to someone's emotional state, often through gentle words, reassurance, or comforting actions.

Usage

Commonly used when describing how parents calm crying children, how leaders appease concerned citizens, or how one comforts an anxious friend. The tone is generally gentle and caring, though it can also be used in political or social contexts to mean pacification of groups. Often appears with objects like 情绪 (emotions), 民心 (people's hearts), or 孩子 (children).

Examples

  1. 01
    妈妈轻轻地安抚着哭泣的宝宝。
    ma qīng qīng de ān zhe de bǎo bao.
    Mom gently soothed the crying baby.
  2. 02
    政府采取措施安抚民众的担忧。
    Zhèng cǎi cuò shī ān mín zhòng de dān yōu.
    The government took measures to ease the public's concerns.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 安抚情绪
    ān qíng
    to soothe emotions
  • 安抚民心
    ān mín xīn
    to pacify the people
  • 安抚孩子
    ān hái zi
    to comfort a child
  • 安抚受害者
    ān shòu hài zhě
    to comfort victims

Antonyms

Origin

The character 安 originally depicted a woman under a roof, symbolizing peace and safety at home. 抚 combines the hand radical with 无, suggesting the gentle action of stroking or comforting with one's hands. Together they create the meaning of bringing peace through comforting action.

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