心安 (xīn ān) — to have peace of mind; to feel at ease | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to feel at ease' once a worry is resolved. Unlike 安 (a plain stative 'be at peace'), 心安 emphasizes the heart/mind being settled after relief.

verb

to have peace of mindto feel at ease

Examples

，心安。
Zhǐ yào wèn xīn wú kuì, nǐ jiù huì gǎn dào xīn ān.
As long as you have a clear conscience, you'll feel at ease.
，心安。
Tā zhǎo huí le diū shī de qián bāo, zǒng suàn xīn ān le.
He recovered the lost wallet and finally felt at ease.
，心安。
Hái zi píng ān dào jiā, fù mǔ cái xīn ān.
Only when the child arrived home safely did the parents feel at ease.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

“心” (heart/mind) being “安” (calm) expresses peace of mind.

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.

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

宀女安

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀mián

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ安ān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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