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点心 (diǎn xin) — light refreshments, snacks, pastries; dim sum (Cantonese-style small dishes); dessert

Definition

点心 covers light savory and sweet bites often eaten with tea, broader than 零食 (loose nibbles) and not limited to after-meal sweets like 甜品. The Cantonese-style "dim sum" sense is the most common in context.

noun
light refreshmentssnackspastriesdim sum (Cantonese-style small dishes)dessert
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • 点心。
    Míng tiān wǒ men qù hē chá chī diǎn xin ba.
    Let's go drink tea and have dim sum tomorrow.
  • 点心，。
    Wǒ mǎi le gè zhǒng diǎn xin, yǒu tián de yě yǒu xián de.
    I bought all kinds of pastries, some sweet and some savory.
  • 点心？
    Fàn hòu nǐ xiǎng chī shén me diǎn xin?
    What dessert would you like after the meal?

Origin

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
黑黑hēiblack
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn點diǎn(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

Open 点 →

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 →
Appears in
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