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内心 (nèi xīn) — heart (as seat of emotions); innermost being

Definition

内心 refers to one's inner feelings or mental state, more formal than 心里. 心底 is stronger, pointing to the deepest, most private feelings.

noun
heart (as seat of emotions)innermost being

Examples

  • 内心。
    Tā nèi xīn fēi cháng gǎn dòng.
    She is very moved in her heart.
  • 内心。
    Tā nèi xīn yì zhí hěn píng jìng.
    His heart has always been calm.
  • 内心。
    Wǒ nèi xīn de huà bù xiǎng gào sù bié rén.
    I don't want to tell others the words in my heart.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

内nèiinner
心xīnheart

内 marks inner and 心 is the heart, giving one's innermost feelings.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

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 4Emotions & Feelings2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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