心迹 (xīn jī) — one's true feelings, innermost thoughts

Definition

Literary word for one's 'true inner feelings' — emphasizes sincerity and authenticity, often used when someone reveals or is understood to have heartfelt intent. Reads as more written and elevated than 想法 or 感受.

noun
one's true feelingsinnermost thoughts
Easily confused

Examples

  • 心迹。
    Tā tōng guò zhè shǒu shī biǎo míng le zì jǐ de xīn jī.
    He expressed his true feelings through this poem.
  • ，心迹。
    Zài zhè fēng xìn lǐ, tā dì yī cì xiàng péng you tǔ lù le xīn jī.
    In this letter, she revealed her innermost thoughts to a friend for the first time.
  • 心迹。
    Tā de xīn jī zuì zhōng hái shì bèi dà jiā kàn dǒng le.
    His true intentions were ultimately understood by everyone.

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
迹jìtraces

The 心 heart and 迹 traces combine to mean the traces of inner feelings.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì迹jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.

Open 迹 →

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