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红心 (hóng xīn) — bull's eye (center of a target); loyal heart (devoted to the revolution or the Party); red heart (as a symbol)

Definition

Literally 'red heart.' Most often the bull's-eye on a target, but in political language it means a loyal heart devoted to the Party or revolution — a fixed collocation, not 'a red-colored heart.'

noun
bull's eye (center of a target)loyal heart (devoted to the revolution or the Party)red heart (as a symbol)

Examples

  • 红心。
    Tā yí jiàn shè zhòng le hóng xīn.
    He shot an arrow and hit the bull's eye.
  • 红心。
    Lǎo yí bèi gé mìng jiā dōu yǒu yì kē hóng xīn.
    The older generation of revolutionaries all have a loyal heart.
  • 红心。
    Tā zài xìn fēng shàng huà le yí gè hóng xīn.
    She drew a red heart on the envelope.

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.

红hóngred
心xīnheart

红 and 心 form a red heart, symbolizing loyalty or the center of a target.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →

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
Emotions & Feelings

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