Definition
情愿 has two related uses: as a verb it means 'to be willing (often at a personal cost)', stronger than 愿意 (yuànyì 'to be willing') and more concrete than 甘心 (gānxīn 'to resign oneself'). As an adverb it means 'would rather', interchangeable with 宁愿 (nìngyuàn) in the pattern 情愿…也不…, but 情愿 is slightly more emotional and colloquial than 宁可 (nìngkě).
verb
to be willingto be ready (to do something, often at a cost)
adverb
would ratherwould prefer (used in 情愿…也不… structure)
Examples
- 情愿，。Tā qíng yuàn fàngqì gāoxīn, huí dào jiāxiāng jiāoshū.He was willing to give up a high salary and return to his hometown to teach.
- 情愿。Wǒ qíng yuàn èsǐ yě bù chī zhè zhǒng bù gānjìng de dōngxi.I would rather starve to death than eat this kind of unclean thing.
- ，情愿。Wèile huánbǎo, tā qíng yuàn měitiān qíchē shàngbān.For environmental protection, she is willing to bike to work every day.
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