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心疼 (xīn téng) — to feel sorry for; to love dearly (for people); to grudge; to be reluctant to part with (for money or things)

Definition

心疼 covers two feelings: feeling sorry for someone you care about, and grudging spending something valuable. For 'love dearly' use 疼爱; for 'reluctant to spend' it's stronger and more emotional than 舍不得.

verb
to feel sorry forto love dearly (for people)to grudgeto be reluctant to part with (for money or things)

Examples

  • ，心疼。
    Kàn dào mā ma nà me lèi, wǒ hěn xīn téng.
    Seeing Mom so tired, I really feel for her.
  • ，。
    Tā wèi le shěng qián bù chī fàn, zhēn ràng rén xīn téng.
    He skips meals to save money — it really makes people feel sorry for him.
  • ，心疼。
    Huā zhè me duō qián mǎi zhè ge bāo, wǒ yǒu diǎn xīn téng.
    Spending so much money on this bag, I feel a bit reluctant.

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xīnheart
疼ténghurt

心 gives the heart, and 疼 says it hurts, so the feeling is pained or reluctant.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèsickness
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng疼téng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

疼 pairs 疒, a sickness marker, with 冬, which supplies the sound.

Open 疼 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

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