忠诚 (zhōng chéng) — loyal; devoted | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

忠诚 (zhōngchéng) is a formal adjective for deep, faithful loyalty — to people, groups, or ideals. Stronger and more committed than 忠实; 忠心 is the abstract noun ('loyalty'), 忠贞 adds the idea of steadfastness in love or duty.

adjective

loyaldevoted

Examples

忠诚。
Tā duì péng you fēi cháng zhōng chéng.
He is very loyal to his friends.
忠诚。
Gōng sī xū yào zhōng chéng de yuán gōng.
The company needs loyal employees.
忠诚。
Tā yì zhí zhōng chéng yú zì jǐ de lǐ xiǎng.
She has always been loyal to her own ideals.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

诚chéngsincere

“忠” is loyal and “诚” is sincere, so the sense is devoted loyalty.

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.

中心忠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

中

中zhōng忠zhōng

Same sound today

忠 pairs 心, meaning heart, with 中, which gives its sound.

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 誠; 诚 is its simplified writing.

言成誠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

成chéng誠chéng

Same sound today

In 誠, 言 is the speech part and 成 gives the sound; this is about the traditional form 誠, not the simplified 诚.

Appears in

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