心胸 (xīn xiōng) — breadth of mind, tolerance, generosity

Definition

Refers to a person's breadth of mind or tolerance, almost always paired with 宽广 or 狭窄. Unlike 胸怀, it is used as a noun measure for character, not as a verb for cherishing ideals.

noun
breadth of mindtolerancegenerosity

Examples

  • 心胸
    Tā xīn xiōng kuān guǎng, cóng bú jì jiào gè rén dé shī.
    He is broad-minded and never fusses over personal gains or losses.
  • Yí gè rén xīn xiōng xiá zhǎi, jiù hěn nán jiāo dào péng you.
    If a person is narrow-minded, it's hard for them to make friends.
  • 心胸
    Lǐng dǎo yào yǒu kuān guǎng de xīn xiōng, cái néng tuán jié dà jiā.
    A leader needs to be broad-minded in order to unite everyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

xīnheart

The “心” and “胸” suggest the breadth of one's mind and tolerance.

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.

Open 心 →

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
ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
xiōngxiōng
Same sound today

胸 adds 肉 (meat/flesh) to the original form 匈, which provides the sound.

Open 胸 →

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