深思 (shēn sī) — to ponder deeply; to think over carefully | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

深思 means to ponder deeply and carefully, usually before a decision — stronger and more deliberate than 思考 ('think/reflect'), and more about weighing a matter than the quiet meditation of 沉思.

verb

to ponder deeplyto think over carefully

Examples

深思，。
Tā shēn sī le hěn jiǔ, cái zuò chū jué dìng.
He pondered for a long time before making a decision.
深思。
Zhè ge jì huà xū yào jìn yí bù shēn sī.
This plan needs further deliberation.
深思，。
shēn sī Zhī hòu, tā yǒu le xīn de rèn shi.
After deep thinking, he gained new understanding.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

深 and 思 combine to mean thinking carefully and deeply.

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

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

𥥍

𥥍𥥍深shēn

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

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Thinking & Cognition

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