慎 (shèn) — (bound form) careful, cautious

Definition

慎 is a bound morpheme meaning 'cautious, careful' — it almost always pairs with another character (谨慎, 慎重, 不慎). It carries a formal, written tone compared to plain 小心.

bound form

carefulcautious

Examples

。
Tā zuò shì fēi cháng jǐn shèn.
He is very cautious in doing things.
。
Zhè ge wèn tí xū yào shèn zhòng kǎo lǜ.
This issue requires careful consideration.
，。
Yóu yú bú shèn, tā fàn le yí gè cuò wù.
Because of carelessness, he made a mistake.

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

心心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

真

真zhēn慎shèn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 慎, the left part 心 points to the mind or feeling, while the right part 真 supplies the sound.

Appears in

Personality & Traits

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