心花 (xīn huā) — heart blossoming with joy (only in the idiom 心花… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

心花 is not used alone — it only appears in the idiom 心花怒放, meaning 'heart blossoming with joy'.

noun

heart blossoming with joy (only in the idiom 心花怒放)

Examples

，。
Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā xīn huā nù fàng.
Hearing this good news, his heart blossomed with joy.
，。
Shōu dào lǐ wù de nà yí kè, tā xīn huā nù fàng.
At the moment she received the gift, her heart blossomed with joy.
，。
Kàn dào hái zi men kǎo shàng dà xué, fù mǔ xīn huā nù fàng.
Seeing their children get into university, the parents' hearts blossomed with joy.

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.

The heart and flower picture joy blooming inside.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

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