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壮志 (zhuàng zhì) — lofty ambition, high aspiration

Definition

壮志 refers to a grand, heroic ambition — especially one tied to a noble cause, not personal gain. It is almost always literary/formal and fixed in phrases like 胸怀壮志 or 壮志未酬.

noun
lofty ambitionhigh aspiration

Examples

  • 壮志。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù xiōng huái zhuàng zhì.
    He has harbored lofty ambitions since childhood.
  • 壮志，。
    Wèi le shí xiàn tā de zhuàng zhì, tā fù chū le hěn duō nǔ lì.
    To realize his lofty aspiration, he put in a lot of effort.
  • 壮志。
    Zhè wèi jiāng jūn de zhuàng zhì shì bǎo wèi guó jiā.
    This general's lofty ambition is to defend the country.

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.

壮zhuànggrand or strong
志zhìaspiration

壮 gives grand or strong, and 志 gives aspiration.

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 壯; 壮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
士士shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán壯zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壯 uses 士 to hint at the meaning and 爿 for the sound; the simplified 壮 is a later abbreviation.

Open 壮 →

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xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī志zhì
Same sound today

志 has 心, the heart, below and a simplified top from 之 for sound.

Open 志 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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