悸 (jì) — (bound form) trembling with fear, as in 心悸 and 惊悸

Definition

悸 is a bound morpheme meaning 'palpitate / tremble (with fear)' that only appears inside compounds like 心悸 (heart palpitations) and 惊悸 (startled trembling). You will never see it standing alone.

bound form
trembling with fearas in 心悸 and 惊悸
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Tā gǎn dào yí zhèn xīn jì.
    He felt a bout of palpitations from fear.
  • ，悸。
    Tīng dào nà ge xiāo xi, tā jīng jì bù yǐ.
    Upon hearing that news, she was startled and trembled uncontrollably.
  • “”、“悸”。
    Zhè ge zì cháng chū xiàn zài "xīn jì", "jīng jì" děng cí zhōng.
    This character often appears in words like '心悸' and '惊悸'.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
季
季jì悸⁰jì
Same sound today

悸 pairs 忄, a form of 心 (heart), with 季, which gives the sound.

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