诚意 (chéng yì) — sincerity, good faith | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

诚意 stresses sincere intention shown in action, often in formal or business contexts (e.g., negotiations). Compare 真心 (genuine inner feelings) and 好意 (general kind intention).

noun

sinceritygood faith

Examples

诚意。
Tán pàn shí shuāng fāng dōu yào yǒu chéng yì.
Both sides must have good faith when negotiating.
诚意。
Tā de chéng yì gǎn dòng le suǒ yǒu rén.
His sincerity moved everyone.
诚意。
Gōng sī cháng qī wǎng lái kào de shì bǐ cǐ de chéng yì.
Long-term business dealings depend on mutual good faith.

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.

诚chéngsincere

意yìintention

诚意 joins 诚, sincere, and 意, intention, to mean genuine good faith.

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 誠; 诚 is its simplified writing.

言成誠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

成chéng誠chéng

Same sound today

In 誠, 言 is the speech part and 成 gives the sound; this is about the traditional form 誠, not the simplified 诚.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Attitudes & Opinions

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