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顺心 (shùn xīn) — happy (about one's situation or life); satisfactory; going smoothly

Definition

顺心 describes one's feelings about how life or affairs are going (satisfied, to one's liking). 顺利 focuses on a process being smooth; 圆满 on a result being complete and successful.

adjective
happy (about one's situation or life)satisfactorygoing smoothly

Examples

  • 顺心。
    Shēng huó shùn xīn bǐ shén me dōu zhòng yào.
    A happy life is more important than anything.
  • 顺心。
    Zhè jiàn shì bàn dé hěn shùn xīn.
    This matter was handled satisfactorily.
  • 顺心。
    Zhù nǐ shì shì shùn xīn.
    May everything go smoothly for you.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

顺shùnsuit
心xīnheart

顺 suit and 心 heart combine as what suits one's heart, hence satisfactory.

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 順; 顺 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
川
川chuān順shùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 順 pairs 川 (river), which gives the sound, with 頁 (head); the picture is a head in a river, following the current. The simplified 顺 is a shorthand.

Open 顺 →

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 7-9Emotions & FeelingsGood & Bad

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