宁愿
níngyuàn · HSK 7
prefer
⚖️ 宁 = rather + 愿 = willing: you'd-rather-be-willing, so you prefer this over that
宁 carries the would-rather sense and 愿 means wish or willing, so 宁愿 weighs two options and lands on the one you choose. Sound cue: níngyuàn starts like the English need-you-want, the thing you want when forced to pick.
愿 — 原 (source) + 心 (heart)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 心 carries the meaning of inner feeling or wish, while 原 (yuán, 'source/plain') supplies the sound. Together they depict a wish welling up from the heart, giving the senses 'to wish, to be willing'.