TongTong
Sign in

谈心 (tán xīn) — to have a heart-to-heart talk, to chat intimately

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning to open up and have a sincere, intimate conversation. The particle 过 can be inserted between the two characters (谈过心) to mark past experience.

verb
to have a heart-to-heart talkto chat intimately

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ hé tā tán guò yí cì xīn.
    I had a heart-to-heart talk with him once.
  • 谈心。
    Wǒ men xū yào zhǎo gè shí jiān tán xīn.
    We need to find a time to have a heart-to-heart talk.
  • 谈心。
    Tā cháng cháng hé hǎo péng you tán xīn.
    She often has heart-to-heart talks with good friends.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

谈tántalk
心xīnheart

谈 is to talk and 心 is the heart, so the expression means talking about one's 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 談; 谈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
炎
炎yán談tán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 谈, the traditional form 談 pairs 言 (speech) with 炎 (yán) as the sound part.

Open 谈 →

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
Communication & SpeechFriends & Social

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.