宽心 (kuān xīn) — to feel relieved; to stop worrying | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'wide heart': describes feeling relieved or at ease after a worry is lifted. Often used as a predicate (宽心了) or to describe words/actions that reassure others (∼的话).

adjective

to feel relievedto stop worrying

Examples

，宽心。
Xiàn zài shì qing dōu jiě jué le, nǐ kě yǐ kuān xīn le.
Now that everything is resolved, you can feel relieved.
，宽心。
Kàn dào hái zi men ān quán dào jiā, fù mǔ cái suàn kuān xīn.
Only after seeing the children arrive home safely did the parents finally feel relieved.
宽心，。
Tā jiǎng le jǐ jù kuān xīn de huà, ràng dà jiā bú zài jǐn zhāng.
He said a few reassuring words so that everyone stopped being nervous.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

宽 means widen and 心 means heart; widening the heart means feeling relieved.

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 寬; 宽 is its simplified writing.

宀萈寬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánhouse

Sound part声符shēngfú

萈

萈huán寬kuān

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

The traditional form 寬 pairs 宀, a house, with 萈, a goat used for sound, to show a spacious house; the simplified 宽 is a later abbreviation.

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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