真心 (zhēn xīn) — sincerity, genuine feelings | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

真心 means sincere feelings or heartfelt intent — stronger and more emotionally warm than 诚意 (which is formal 'good faith' in dealings). Often takes the measure word 片, as in 一片真心.

noun

sinceritygenuine feelings

Measure word · 片

Examples

真心。
Tā de yí piàn zhēn xīn dǎ dòng le suǒ yǒu rén.
Her sincerity moved everyone.
真心。
Wǒ zhēn xīn xī wàng nǐ xìng fú.
I sincerely hope you are happy.
真心，。
Tā duì wǒ zhēn xīn, wǒ hěn qīng chǔ.
He is sincere with me; I know it clearly.

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.

真 and 心 combine as a true heart, expressing sincerity from the heart.

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

貝貝bèicowrie; shell

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠂈

𠂈𠂈真zhēn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

真 pairs 貝 (cowrie shell, used for the meaning) with 𠂈, which gave the sound and originally drew a headlong fall.

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 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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