仁慈 (rén cí) — benevolent; kind; merciful | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

仁慈 emphasizes gentle, merciful compassion in how one treats others. More literary than 善良 and softer/warmer than 慈善 (which leans institutional giving).

adjective

benevolentkindmerciful

Examples

仁慈。
Tā duì dài qióng rén fēi cháng rén cí.
He is very kind to the poor.
仁慈。
Lǎo bǎn de rén cí tài dù ràng yuán gōng gǎn dào wēn nuǎn.
The boss's benevolent attitude made the employees feel warm.
仁慈，。
Tā shì gè rén cí de rén, zǒng shì bāng zhù bié rén.
She is a merciful person who always helps others.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

仁rénbenevolent

仁 and 慈 both express kindness, together conveying benevolence.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

人rén仁rén

Same sound today

仁 is built from 人 and 二; 人 gives the sound, and 二 gives the meaning.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

茲

茲zī慈cí

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

慈 has 心 (heart) below 茲, which gives its sound; the heart shows the character relates to feelings such as kindness and love.

Appears in

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