自信心 (zì xìn xīn) — self-confidence | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

self-confidence

Examples

自信心。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù yǒu hěn qiáng de zì xìn xīn.
He has had strong self-confidence since childhood.
自信心。
Zhè cì chéng gōng dà dà zēng qiáng le tā de zì xìn xīn.
This success greatly boosted her self-confidence.
自信心。
Quē fá zì xìn xīn de rén wǎng wǎng bù gǎn cháng shì xīn shì wù.
People who lack self-confidence often dare not try new things.

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.

自信self-confidence

自zìself信xìntrust

主谓Subject + predicate

心xīnfeeling

Confidence in oneself: 自 refers to self, 信 to trust, and 心 to the feeling.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

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

言言yánwords

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

人rén信xìn

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

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

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.

Appears in

Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.