心路 (xīn lù) — intention, motive (often scheming or cunning); train of thought, way of thinking; inner mental process

Definition

心路 covers two senses: 'inner mental process / train of thought' (e.g. 心路历程), and more negatively 'scheming, cunning intentions'. The first sense is the everyday one; the scheming sense fits contexts like 很有心路 ('calculating').

noun
intentionmotive (often scheming or cunning)train of thoughtway of thinkinginner mental process

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zhè ge rén hěn yǒu xīn lù, zuò shì zǒng liú yì shǒu.
    He's a scheming person; he always holds something back.
  • 心路。
    Tā xiě wén zhāng shí xīn lù hěn qīng xī.
    Her train of thought is very clear when she writes articles.
  • 心路。
    Tā zài zhè běn shū lǐ jì lù le zì jǐ de xīn lù lì chéng.
    He recorded his mental journey in this book.

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 or mind
路lùpath

心 is the heart or mind and 路 is a path, so 心路 suggests a person's inner path or train of thought.

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
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →

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