心窍 (xīn qiào) — mental faculty, capacity for insight; one's ability to think clearly or understand

Definition

心窍 (xīn qiào) refers to the mind's capacity for understanding — almost always used in set phrases like 开窍 ('have an insight / catch on') and 鬼迷心窍 ('be out of one's mind').

noun
mental facultycapacity for insightone's ability to think clearly or understand

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zhēn shì guǐ mí xīn qiào, cái huì zuò chū zhè zhǒng shì.
    He must have been out of his mind to do such a thing.
  • ，心窍。
    Zhè ge xué shēng yì diǎn jiù tōng, xīn qiào hěn kāi.
    This student is quick on the uptake; he has an open mind.
  • ，心窍。
    Jīng guò lǎo shī de diǎn bō, tā zhōng yú kāi le xīn qiào.
    After the teacher's guidance, he finally had an insight.

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/mind
窍qiàoopening

心 (heart/mind) and 窍 (opening) together picture the inner openings through which one thinks and understands.

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 竅; 窍 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo竅qiào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 竅 combines 穴, meaning cave, with 敫 for the sound; the simplified 窍 is a shorthand.

Open 窍 →

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