绝望
juéwàng · HSK 5
give up all hope
💔 绝望 = cut off + hope; literally 'sever hope'
绝 means to cut off or sever, 望 means hope or to gaze toward. Together they describe hope being severed — total despair. Contrast with 希望 (xīwàng, 'hope'), which shares the 望 character.
绝 — silk 纟 + 巴 (phonetic-ish, knife cutting threads)
绝 originally depicted cutting silk threads with a knife, conveying the idea of severing or cutting off completely. From this concrete sense it extended to mean 'to break off,' 'exhausted,' and figuratively 'absolute' or 'extreme.' The simplified form replaced the older right-hand component with 巴.
望 — 亡 (phonetic) + 月 moon + 王 king/standing figure
Originally a pictograph of a person standing on tiptoe gazing at the moon, expressing the idea of looking far into the distance. Over time the figure was reshaped and 亡 was added as a phonetic element. The meaning extended from 'gaze afar' to 'hope for' or 'expect.'