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上进心 (shàng jìn xīn) — drive to improve oneself; ambition for progress

Definition

A noun for an inner push to improve and achieve more — a quality someone has, not a single action. It pairs naturally with 有/没有 to describe a person.

noun
drive to improve oneselfambition for progress

Examples

  • 上进心，。
    Tā shì yí gè hěn yǒu shàng jìn xīn de nián qīng rén, měi tiān dōu zài xué xí xīn jì néng.
    He's a young person with a strong drive to improve, learning new skills every day.
  • 上进心。
    Gōng sī zhāo pìn shí hěn kàn zhòng yuán gōng yǒu méi yǒu shàng jìn xīn.
    The company values whether employees have ambition for self-improvement when hiring.
  • 上进心，。
    Rú guǒ yí gè rén méi yǒu shàng jìn xīn, hěn nán zài zhí chǎng shàng qǔ dé chéng jiù.
    If a person lacks the drive to improve, it's hard to achieve success in the workplace.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

上进progress
上shàngup进jìnadvance
偏正Modifier + head
心xīnmind

“上进” suggests moving up and forward, and “心” is the mind or drive, so the meaning is a drive toward progress.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

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
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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