方寸 (fāng cùn) — (literary) the heart, one's mind; a small area, a square cun (unit of area)

Definition

Literary term with two distinct senses: 'a square cun (small area)' in literal/measure contexts, and metaphorically 'one's heart / mind' (as in 方寸大乱, 'one's heart thrown into turmoil').

noun
(literary) the heartone's minda small areaa square cun (unit of area)

Examples

  • 方寸。
    Tā bèi zhè ge xiāo xi xià dé fāng cùn dà luàn.
    He was so frightened by this news that his mind was in turmoil.
  • 方寸，。
    Zhè kuài dì zhǐ yǒu fāng cùn dà xiǎo, zhǒng bù liǎo shén me.
    This piece of land is only a square cun in size; you can't plant much.
  • 方寸，。
    Tā xīn zhōng fāng cùn yǐ luàn, wú fǎ zuò chū jué dìng.
    His heart is already in turmoil, unable to make a decision.

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.

方fāngsquare
寸cùncun

方寸 literally means square cun: 方 is square and 寸 is a cun; the heart sense is metaphorical.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

寸 has two unrelated original forms: a line on the hand and an abbreviated form of another character. It was borrowed for its sound, so the picture is unrelated to the modern meaning.

Open 寸 →

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