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心肠 (xīn cháng) — (noun) innate kindness or compassion (as in 好心肠, 心肠软, 心肠硬); (noun) mood; inclination (in 没心肠 + verb)

Definition

心肠 names a person's innate character or current disposition — as in 好心肠 ('kind-hearted') vs 心肠硬 ('hard-hearted'), or 没心肠 ('not in the mood'). It differs from 心情 ('mood'), which is temporary feeling rather than moral bent.

noun
innate kindness or compassion (as in 好心肠, 心肠软, 心肠硬)moodinclination (in 没心肠 + verb)

Examples

  • ，心肠。
    Bié kàn tā shuō huà nán tīng, qí shí xīn cháng tè bié hǎo.
    Even though he says harsh things, he actually has a very kind heart.
  • 心肠，。
    Tā xīn cháng tài yìng, cóng bù kěn yuán liàng bié rén.
    He is too hard-hearted and never forgives others.
  • 心肠。
    Wǒ xiàn zài méi xīn cháng gēn nǐ kāi wán xiào.
    I'm not in the mood to joke with you right now.

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
肠chángintestines

心 means heart and 肠 means intestines, so 心肠 refers to a person's disposition.

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 腸; 肠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròubody
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng腸cháng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腸 pairs 肉, the body, with 昜, which gives the sound; the simplified 肠 is a later shorthand.

Open 肠 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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