芳心 (fāng xīn) — a young woman's heart or affections (literary,… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/poetic noun for a young woman's romantic feelings — 'her heart'. Almost always appears with verbs like 动, 赢得, or 暗许 in writing.

noun

a young woman's heart or affections (literary, romantic)

Examples

，芳心。
Tā tōng guò bú xiè nǔ lì, zhōng yú yíng dé le tā de fāng xīn.
Through unremitting efforts, he finally won her heart.
芳心。
Zhè wèi shī rén yòng shēn qíng de shī jù dǎ dòng le wú shù shào nǚ de fāng xīn.
This poet touched the hearts of countless young women with his affectionate verses.
芳心，。
Tā fāng xīn àn xǔ, què yīn hài xiū bù gǎn biǎo bái.
She secretly gave her heart but dared not confess because of shyness.

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.

芳fāngfragrant

芳 adds a fragrant, delicate sense and 心 the heart, together referring to a young woman's romantic feelings.

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

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng芳fāng

Same sound today

芳 pairs 艸 (grass) with 方 (fāng); the 方 part gives the sound.

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

Romance & Marriage

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