好胜心 (hào shèng xīn) — competitive drive, desire to outdo others, ambition to be the best

Definition

A noun for an inner drive to win or outdo others — a personality trait, not a single act. Often modified by 强/太强 in descriptions of someone's character.

noun
competitive drivedesire to outdo othersambition to be the best

Examples

  • 好胜心，。
    Tā de hào shèng xīn hěn qiáng, zuò shén me dōu yào zhēng dì yī.
    His competitive drive is very strong — he has to be first in everything.
  • 好胜心，。
    Shì dàng de hào shèng xīn kě yǐ ràng rén jìn bù, dàn tài qiáng le fǎn ér bù hǎo.
    A moderate competitive drive can help people improve, but too much of it is counterproductive.
  • 好胜心，。
    Tā yīn wèi hào shèng xīn tài qiáng, cháng cháng hé tóng shì nào máo dùn.
    Because her competitive drive is too strong, she often has conflicts with colleagues.

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.

好胜wanting to win
好hǎolike胜shèngwin
动宾Verb + object
心xīnheart

好胜 means wanting to win, and 心 gives the sense of a mindset or drive.

Characters in this word

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng胜shèng
Same sound today

The simplified 胜 changes the traditional 勝 by replacing part of its sound side with 生; the left 肉 relates to meat.

Open 胜 →

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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