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心怀 (xīn huái) — to harbor (resentment, doubts, secret intentions); to cherish (hopes, ideals, good wishes)

Definition

A literary verb meaning 'to harbor (feelings, usually hidden) or to cherish (ideals, wishes)' — used in writing, rarely in everyday speech. Pairs with abstract feelings like 不满, 恶意, 感激, or aspirations like 愿望, 理想.

verb
to harbor (resentment, doubts, secret intentions)to cherish (hopes, ideals, good wishes)

Examples

  • 心怀，。
    Tā xīn huái bù mǎn, què méi yǒu shuō chū lái.
    He harbored resentment but didn't say it.
  • 心怀。
    Tā shǐ zhōng xīn huái yí gè měi hǎo de yuàn wàng.
    She has always cherished a beautiful wish.
  • ，心怀。
    Duì tā wǒ zhǐ yǒu gǎn jī, méi yǒu xīn huái rèn hé è yì.
    I have only gratitude for him, without harboring any malice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

心xīnheart
怀huáibosom

心 and 怀, both the seat of feelings, together give the sense of harboring or a state 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.

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 懷; 怀 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái懷huái
Same sound today

The traditional form 懷 uses 心 (heart) to show longing and 褱 for the sound; the simplified 怀 is a later shorthand.

Open 怀 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsWill & Intention

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