居心 (jū xīn) — to harbor (usually bad) intentions | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A written/literary verb meaning 'to harbor (bad) intentions.' Always paired with a modifier — 居心不良, 居心叵测 — never used alone.

verb

to harbor (usually bad) intentions

Examples

，。
Tā zhè yàng zuò shì, jū xīn bù liáng.
The way he does things shows he harbors ill intentions.
，？
Nǐ zhè me shuō, dào dǐ jū de shén me xīn?
What exactly are your intentions when you say that?
居心。
Wǒ shí zài cāi bú tòu tā yǒu shén me jū xīn.
I really can't figure out what intentions he has.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

居心 puts 居, to keep or harbor, with 心, heart or intention, to mean harboring intentions.

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.

尸古居

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ居jū

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

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

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.

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