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心甘情愿 (xīng ān-qíng yuàn) — willingly, with all one's heart; to be perfectly willing to do something

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'willingly, with all one's heart' — emphasizes that the speaker is fully glad to do something, not reluctant. Often used as an adverb with 地.

phrase
willinglywith all one's heartto be perfectly willing to do something

Examples

  • 心甘情愿。
    Tā xīng ān-qíng yuàn dì jiē shòu le zhè ge xīn rèn wu.
    He accepted this new task willingly.
  • ，心甘情愿。
    Wèi le hái zi de wèi lái, fù mǔ shén me dōu xīng ān-qíng yuàn.
    For their children's future, parents are willing to do anything.
  • 心甘情愿。
    Tā xīng ān-qíng yuàn dì fàng qì le xiū xi shí jiān.
    She willingly gave up her rest time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

心甘heart is willing
心xīnheart甘gānwilling
主谓Subject + predicate
情愿feelings are willing
情qíngfeeling愿yuànwish
主谓Subject + predicate

心甘 and 情愿 are parallel, meaning both heart and feelings are willing.

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

甘 originally drew an open mouth with something sweet inside it. This gives the sense of sweet or pleasant.

Open 甘 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
原
原yuán愿yuàn
Same sound today

愿 places 心 (heart) below 原, which supplies the sound yuán; the 心 part marks the sense of heart or feeling.

Open 愿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesWill & Intention

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