志向 (zhì xiàng) — ambition; goal | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

志向 is a long-held personal ambition or aspiration, more idealistic than the practical 目标/目的 ('goal/target'). Often pairs with 远大 and verb 立下 (as in 立下志向).

noun

ambitiongoal

Examples

志向。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù lì xià le yuǎn dà de zhì xiàng.
He set great ambitions from childhood.
志向。
Shí xiàn zhè ge zhì xiàng xū yào duō nián de nǔ lì.
Realizing this goal requires many years of effort.
志向。
Tā de zhì xiàng shì chéng wéi yì míng chū sè de kē xué jiā.
Her ambition is to become an outstanding scientist.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

志zhìaspiration

向xiàngdirection

志 and 向 together give a person's inner intention and its direction, meaning ambition.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

宀宀miánhouse
口口kǒumouth

向 originally drew 宀 (house) with 口 to show an echo in a place; later it was used for direction.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.