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当心 (dāng xīn) — to be careful, to watch out

Definition

当心 warns of an immediate physical danger, like 'watch out!' (often used as a quick shout). 小心 is more general 'be careful' and 仔细 means 'meticulous/attentive'.

verb
to be carefulto watch out

Examples

  • 当心，。
    dāng xīn, Qián miàn yǒu tái jiē.
    Watch out, there are steps ahead.
  • 当心。
    Kāi chē de shí hou yí dìng yào dāng xīn.
    You must be careful when driving.
  • 当心。
    dāng xīn Bié pèng nà ge rè shuǐ hú.
    Be careful not to touch that hot water kettle.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

当dānghold/keep
心xīnmind/heart

当 here means to hold or keep, and 心 is the mind, so together they mean to keep one's mind careful.

Characters in this word

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Safety & Danger5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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