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善解人意 (shàn jiě rén yì) — empathetic and considerate; good at understanding others' feelings and needs

Definition

A chengyu praising someone who readily grasps others' thoughts and feelings and responds with care. Used as a compliment for emotionally perceptive people.

idiom
empathetic and considerategood at understanding others' feelings and needs

Examples

  • 善解人意，。
    Tā fēi cháng shàn jiě rén yì, zǒng néng zài wǒ nán guò shí ān wèi wǒ.
    She is very empathetic and always comforts me when I'm sad.
  • ，善解人意，。
    Zuò wéi lǐng dǎo, tā shàn jiě rén yì, tuán duì chéng yuán dōu hěn zūn jìng tā.
    As a leader, he is considerate, and the team members all respect him.
  • 善解人意。
    Yí gè shàn jiě rén yì de péng you bǐ shén me dōu zhēn guì.
    An empathetic friend is more precious than anything.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

善解good at understanding
善shàngood/adept解jiěunderstand
偏正Modifier + head
人意people's intentions
人rénpeople意yìintentions/feelings
偏正Modifier + head

The parts 善, 解, 人, and 意 mean 'good at', 'understand', 'people', and 'intentions', together describing empathy.

Characters in this word

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

An earlier form of 善 joined 羊, a sheep linked with goodness or beauty, and 誩, described as a wrangle; the reference says this meaning link is hard to understand.

Open 善 →

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

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesPersonality & Traits

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