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良心 (liáng xīn) — conscience

Definition

良心 is the moral sense inside you — a person's conscience. 好心 is more about outward kindness and intentions, while 良心 is about feeling right or wrong within.

noun
conscience

Examples

  • 良心，。
    Zuò shēng yi yào píng liáng xīn, bù néng piàn rén.
    You must act with conscience in business and not cheat people.
  • ，良心。
    Tā zuò le duì bu qǐ péng you de shì, yì zhí liáng xīn bù ān.
    He did something wrong to his friend and has been feeling guilty.
  • ，良心？
    Nǐ zhè yàng shuō, hái yǒu liáng xīn ma?
    How can you say that? Do you have any conscience?

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.

良liánggood
心xīnheart

良 'good' and 心 'heart' combine to mean conscience.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

良 possibly depicts corridors and a room.

Open 良 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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