违心 (wéi xīn) — to go against one's own will/conscience; to do something reluctantly

Definition

违心 (wéixīn) means to act or speak against one's own true feelings or conscience. Often used to describe reluctant compromises or insincere statements (e.g. 违心的话).

verb
to go against one's own will/conscienceto do something reluctantly

Examples

  • 违心。
    Tā cóng lái bù shuō wéi xīn de huà.
    He never says anything against his true intentions.
  • ，。
    Zhè cì wǒ wéi le xīn, dā ying le tā de yāo qiú.
    This time I went against my conscience and agreed to his request.
  • 违心。
    Zuò chū wéi xīn de xuǎn zé ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.
    Making a choice that goes against your will makes people very uncomfortable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

违wéiviolate
心xīnheart

“违” means to violate or go against, and “心” means heart or conscience, so the word means acting against one's will.

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 違; 违 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi違wéi
Same sound today

The traditional form 違 pairs 辶, which shows walking, with 韋 to give the sound. The simplified 违 is a later shorthand.

Open 违 →

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 →

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