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心头 (xīn tóu) — heart; mind (in a poetic or emotional sense)

Definition

A poetic noun meaning 'heart / mind' — the seat of emotions and feelings. It pairs with verbs like 记 (keep in mind), 压 (weigh on), 热 (warm), emphasizing inner feeling rather than thought.

noun
heartmind (in a poetic or emotional sense)

Examples

  • 心头。
    Tā zhè fān huà yì zhí jì zài wǒ xīn tóu.
    His words have always remained in my heart.
  • ，心头。
    Kàn dào nǚ ér de jiǎng zhuàng, mā ma xīn tóu yí rè.
    Seeing her daughter's certificate, the mother's heart warmed.
  • 心头。
    Nà gǔ mò míng de jiāo lǜ yā zài tā xīn tóu.
    That nameless anxiety weighed on her heart.

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.

心xīnheart
头tóuhead

The 心 'heart' and 头 'head' combine to point to the inner mind or emotional center.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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