期盼
qípàn · HSK 7
look forward to
👀⏳ 期 expect + 盼 long-for; 盼 holds 目 (eye), the part that gazes ahead
Both halves mean to hope: 期 (qī) a set time you await, 盼 (pàn) to yearn. The 目 eye-radical in 盼 marks it as looking, so 期盼 is awaiting-plus-looking: to look forward to.
期 — 其 (phonetic) + 月 (moon/time)
期 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 月 (moon) signals meaning, since lunar cycles marked fixed time periods in ancient China. The left side 其 supplies the sound. Together it points to a set time, period, or appointed date — meanings still carried today in words like 期间 and 日期.
盼 — eye 目 + divide 分 (phonetic)
盼 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 目 (eye) gives the meaning and 分 supplies the sound. It originally described eyes with a clear contrast between black and white, then shifted to mean looking eagerly into the distance, and now commonly means to hope for or long for something.