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精神 (jīng shén) — spirit; collective ethos (of a team, movement, etc.); mind; mental state

Definition

At HSK 7, 精神 emphasizes the collective, resilient 'spirit' of a group or movement (团队精神), or a person's mental/mood state. Compared to 心灵 (inner heart/soul) and 心理 (psychology, mental processes), 精神 is more outward-facing energy.

noun
spiritcollective ethos (of a team, movement, etc.)mindmental state
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 精神，。
    Tā de jīng shén fēi cháng wán qiáng, cóng bú fàng qì.
    His spirit is very tenacious; he never gives up.
  • ，精神。
    Zuì jìn gōng zuò yā lì dà, jīng shén bú tài hǎo.
    Recently work pressure is high, so my mental state isn't very good.
  • 精神。
    Tuán duì jīng shén shì chéng gōng de guān jiàn.
    Team spirit is the key to success.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

精jīngessence
神shénspirit

精神 joins 精, essence, and 神, spirit, to name mind or collective ethos.

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng精jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

Open 精 →

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.

Open 神 →
Appears in
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