倾心 (qīng xīn) — to be captivated by; to admire deeply; cordial;… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used when someone is deeply captivated or drawn to a person, art, or idea — stronger and more literary than simple 喜欢. Also describes a sincere, heart-to-heart exchange.

adjective

to be captivated byto admire deeplycordialheart-to-heartwith all one's heart

Examples

倾心。
Tā duì yīn yuè fēi cháng qīng xīn.
He is deeply captivated by music.
倾心。
Tā men qīng xīn jiāo tán le yí gè xià wǔ.
They had a heart-to-heart talk all afternoon.
。
Tā duì tā yí jiàn qīng xīn.
She fell for him at first sight.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

倾 (lean) and 心 (heart) together suggest giving one's heart to someone.

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 傾; 倾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

頃

頃qǐng傾qīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 傾 combines 人 (man) with 頃, which gives the sound; 倾 is the simplified form of 傾.

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.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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