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上心 (shàng xīn) — to take seriously, to pay close attention, to care about

Definition

Used as an adjective to mean 'caring / paying close attention', often in the pattern 对…很上心 ('to care a lot about…'). Common in spoken Chinese.

adjective
to take seriouslyto pay close attentionto care about

Examples

  • 上心，。
    Tā duì gōng zuò hěn shàng xīn, cóng bù mǎ hu.
    He takes his work very seriously and never slacks off.
  • 上心？
    Nǐ duì zì jǐ hái zi de xué xí zěn me yì diǎn dōu bú shàng xīn?
    How come you don't care at all about your own child's studies?
  • 上心，。
    Zhè jiàn shì nǐ yào duō shàng xīn, bié chū le chā cuò.
    You need to pay more attention to this matter—don't make any mistakes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shàngput on
心xīnheart/mind

上 put on and 心 heart/mind make taking something seriously.

Characters in this word

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

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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 →
Appears in
Attitudes & OpinionsThinking & Cognition

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