清心 (qīng xīn) — to clear one's mind of worries; to have peace of mind; (traditional Chinese medicine) to clear heart heat

Definition

Literary/classical verb for clearing the mind of worries and calming the spirit — a more elevated, written counterpart to everyday words like 放松. Often paired with 安神 in TCM contexts.

verb
to clear one's mind of worriesto have peace of mind(traditional Chinese medicine) to clear heart heat
Easily confused

Examples

  • 清心。
    Tā měi tiān tōng guò míng xiǎng qīng xīn.
    He clears his mind through meditation every day.
  • ，清心。
    Gōng zuò lèi le, kě yǐ qīng yi qīng xīn.
    When you're tired from work, you can clear your mind a bit.
  • 清心。
    Zhè zhǒng zhōng yào kě yǐ qīng xīn ān shén.
    This Chinese medicine can clear the mind and calm the spirit.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

清qīngclear
心xīnheart

清 means to clear, and 心 is the heart or mind; together they express clearing one's mind.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng清qīng
Same sound today

清 has 氵 (water) on the left and 青 on the right to show its sound.

Open 清 →

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 →

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