一见倾心 (yī jiàn qīng xīn) — to fall in love at first sight; to be instantly smitten

Definition

Literary idiom for 'falling in love at first sight.' More formal and literary than everyday 爱上, with a sudden, overwhelming sense of being smitten.

idiom
to fall in love at first sightto be instantly smitten

Examples

  • 一见倾心，。
    Tā men zài wǔ huì shàng yī jiàn qīng xīn, cóng cǐ kāi shǐ le làng màn de ài qíng gù shi.
    They fell in love at first sight at the ball, and from then on began a romantic love story.
  • 一见倾心，。
    Tā duì tā yī jiàn qīng xīn, dàn yì zhí bù gǎn biǎo bái.
    She was smitten with him at first sight, but never dared to confess.
  • 一见倾心。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí duàn yī jiàn qīng xīn de làng màn qíng jié.
    This novel depicts a romantic scene of love at first sight.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傾; 倾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
頃
頃qǐng傾qīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 傾 combines 人 (man) with 頃, which gives the sound; 倾 is the simplified form of 傾.

Open 倾 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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