神智 (shén zhì) — mental faculties; consciousness | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers specifically to a person's mental faculties and clarity of consciousness (especially after injury, fever, or shock), not general 'mind' or 'intelligence'.

noun

mental facultiesconsciousness

Examples

，神智。
Shì jiàn guò hòu, tā de shén zhì màn màn huī fù le.
After the incident, his consciousness slowly returned.
神智。
Gāo shāo ràng tā de shén zhì biàn de mó hu bù qīng.
The high fever made his mind become fuzzy and unclear.
，神智。
Lǎo rén suī rán nián jì dà le, dàn shén zhì yī rán fēi cháng qīng xǐng.
Although the old man is old, his mental faculties are still very clear.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

智zhìintelligence

神 names the mind, and 智 names intelligence, together covering mental faculties.

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

示示shìgod; deity

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

申shēn神shén

Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

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

大大dàadult
口口kǒumouth
子子zǐchild

The early form 智 used 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to pass knowledge to a child.

Appears in

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