心窝 (xīn wō) — the depression at the center of the chest (over the heart); the bottom of one's heart; innermost feelings

Definition

Literally 'heart-pit', 心窝 refers both to the physical dip in the center of the chest and, more figuratively, to one's deepest feelings — as in 说到心窝里 ('touched me to the core').

noun
the depression at the center of the chest (over the heart)the bottom of one's heartinnermost feelings

Examples

  • 心窝。
    Tā zhè fān huà shuō dào wǒ xīn wō lǐ qù le.
    What he said really touched my heart.
  • 心窝。
    Tā pǎo bù hòu xīn wō yǒu diǎn r téng.
    After running, he felt a bit of pain in his chest.
  • 心窝。
    Wǒ yǒng yuǎn bǎ tā fàng zài xīn wō lǐ.
    I'll always keep him in my heart.

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
窝wōhollow

The heart and hollow together picture the pit over the heart.

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 窩; 窝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi窩wō
Same sound today

The traditional form 窩 uses 穴, a cave, for meaning and 咼 for sound; the simplified 窝 is a later shorthand.

Open 窝 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.