TongTong
Sign in

怀中 (huái zhōng) — the space in front of one's chest, one's arms (as a place to hold something); one's heart or mind (as a place where emotions or thoughts reside)

Definition

Literary word for the space in one's arms or in front of the chest — used for holding someone or something close. By extension, it means 'in one's heart' (emotions, thoughts).

noun
the space in front of one's chest, one's arms (as a place to hold something)one's heart or mind (as a place where emotions or thoughts reside)

Examples

  • 怀中。
    Tā bǎ xìn jǐn jǐn dì wò zài huái zhōng.
    She held the letter tightly in her bosom.
  • 怀中。
    Tā bǎ duì gù xiāng de sī niàn shēn cáng huái zhōng.
    He deeply buried his longing for his hometown in his heart.
  • 怀中。
    Hái zi zài tā huái zhōng ān jìng dì shuì zháo le.
    The child fell asleep quietly in her arms.

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.

怀huáichest/bosom
中zhōnginside/middle

怀 names the chest or arms, and 中 locates something inside that space.

Characters in this word

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 懷; 怀 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái懷huái
Same sound today

The traditional form 懷 uses 心 (heart) to show longing and 褱 for the sound; the simplified 怀 is a later shorthand.

Open 怀 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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