死心 (sǐ xīn) — to give up (on an idea or hope); to stop hoping | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

死心 means 'to give up hope' about a specific wish or expectation — the focus is losing the hope itself, not abandoning an action (that's 放弃). Often used in the pattern 死了…这条心 ("drop that idea").

verb

to give up (on an idea or hope)to stop hoping

Examples

死心，。
Tā zǎo jiù sǐ xīn le, bú zài xiǎng nà jiàn shì.
He gave up long ago and no longer thinks about that matter.
，。
Nǐ sǐ le zhè tiáo xīn ba, tā bú huì tóng yì de.
Give up this idea — she won't agree.
死心，。
Tā yǐ jīng sǐ xīn le, bú zài bào rèn hé xī wàng.
He has given up and no longer holds any hope.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

死sǐto cease

心xīnthe mind or intention

死 means to cease and 心 means the mind or intention: ceasing to hope or pursue something.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尸

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

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings

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