辛 (xīn) — pungent; spicy; hot in taste; hardworking; industrious; painful; bitter
Definition
A bound literary morpheme: 辛 refers to a hot/pungent taste (as in 辛辣) or to hardship and suffering (as in 艰辛, 辛苦). It almost never stands alone — pair it with 辣, 苦, or 勤 to form common words.
bound form
pungentspicyhot in tastehardworkingindustriouspainfulbitter
Examples
- 。xīn Là de shí wù ràng rén liú lèi.Spicy food makes people cry.
- 。Tā xīn qín gōng zuò le shí nián.He worked industriously for ten years.
- ，。Huí yì qǐ nà duàn xīn suān wǎng shì, tā rěn bú zhù kū le.Recalling those bitter memories, he couldn't help crying.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
The oldest forms of 辛 drew a newly grown tree shoot. The shape was later also read as a sharp marking tool, but that reading may come from confusing it with another character.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.