童心 (tóng xīn) — childlike innocence; pure-heartedness

Definition

Noun for a 'childlike heart' — the innocence, curiosity, and wonder one keeps (or had) from childhood. Often paired with 怀有 ('still has') to describe adults who stay open to the world.

noun
childlike innocencepure-heartedness
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，童心。
    Tā suī yǐ nián guò zhōng nián, què réng huái yǒu tóng xīn.
    Although he is middle-aged, he still holds a childlike innocence.
  • 童心。
    Zhè kē tóng xīn ràng tā duì shì jiè chōng mǎn hào qí.
    This childlike heart makes him full of curiosity about the world.
  • 童心。
    Tóng nián de tóng xīn shì rén yì shēng zuì bǎo guì de cái fù.
    The innocence of childhood is the most precious treasure in one's life.

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.

童tóngchild
心xīnheart

童 means child and 心 means heart, together mean childlike innocence.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 䇂䇂䇂chisel
  • 見見jiànkneeling person with a huge eye

The form 童 comes from a pairing of 䇂 (a chisel) with 見 (a kneeling person with a huge eye), depicting a person having an eye gouged out.

Open 童 →

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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