思忖 (sī cǔn) — to ponder, to consider | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to ponderto consider

思忖，。
Tā sī cǔn le piàn kè, cái zuò chū jué dìng.
He pondered for a moment before making a decision.
思忖。
Zhè ge wèn tí xū yào zǐ xì sī cǔn.
This issue requires careful consideration.
思忖。
Tā sī cǔn zhe rú hé huí dá zhè ge nán tí.
She was pondering how to answer this difficult question.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

忖cǔnconsider

思 and 忖 both express thinking and considering, together meaning to ponder.

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

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

囟

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄寸忖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

寸

Same sound today

忖 combines 忄 (the heart/mind form of 心) with 寸 as a sound part. The heart part gives the sense of thinking carefully.