心声 (xīn shēng) — inner voice; heartfelt thoughts and feelings | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary ‘inner voice’ — the heartfelt feelings someone truly wants to express. 心底 is the same idea (‘deep down’) but more about hidden feelings than outward expression; 情怀 adds nostalgic or idealistic sentiment.

noun

inner voiceheartfelt thoughts and feelings

Easily confused

新生xīn shēngsound-alike(noun) new student, freshman

Examples

心声。
Zhè shǒu gē biǎo dá le tā de xīn shēng.
This song expresses his inner voice.
心声。
Nǐ de xīn shēng wǒ yǐ jīng tīng dào le.
I've already heard your true feelings.
心声。
Shuō chū xīn shēng bìng bù róng yì.
Speaking one's heart is not easy.

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.

The “心” “声” image a voice from the heart, carrying inner feelings.

Characters in this word

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.

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

殸耳聲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

殸

殸qìng聲shēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings Thinking & Cognition

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