担心 (dān xīn) — to worry, to be anxious | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Verb 'to worry / be anxious' about a specific matter (often takes 对/为 + object). 更口语,侧重心里的牵挂; 急/不安 describe the resulting feeling, not the act of worrying.

verb

to worryto be anxious

Examples

担心。
Wǒ duì zhè jiàn shì hěn dān xīn.
I'm very worried about this matter.
担心，。
Bié dān xīn, nǐ yí dìng néng kǎo hǎo.
Don't worry, you'll definitely do well on the exam.
。
Wǒ méi dān guò zhè zhǒng xīn.
I've never had that kind of worry.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

“担” gives carrying, “心” gives the heart, so the word pictures carrying something on one’s mind.

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.

扌旦担

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

旦

旦dàn担dàn

Same sound today

In 担, the left part 扌 is the hand, showing that the action involves using the hand. The right part 旦 shows how it sounds.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 500 Most Frequent Chinese Words HSK 2.0 Level 3 1000 Most Frequent Chinese Words Emotions & Feelings 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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