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灰心 (huī xīn) — discouraged, disheartened

Definition

Discouraged after setbacks; focuses on losing confidence to keep trying. Stronger than 失望 (just feeling let down), and 泄气/气馁 are written near-synonyms used less in speech.

adjective
discourageddisheartened

Examples

  • 灰心，。
    Yù dào kùn nan yě bú yào huī xīn, jiān chí xià qù jiù huì chéng gōng.
    Don't lose heart when you encounter difficulties; keep at it and you will succeed.
  • 灰心。
    Tā yīn wèi kǎo shì méi kǎo hǎo ér hěn huī xīn.
    He was very discouraged because he didn't do well on the exam.
  • 灰心，。
    Bié huī xīn, zhè cì shī bài zhǐ shì zàn shí de.
    Don't be discouraged; this failure is only temporary.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

灰huīturn ashen
心xīnheart

灰 turn ashen and 心 heart picture the heart turning ashen, hence discouraged.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Open 灰 →

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.

Open 心 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings

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