雄心 (xióng xīn) — great ambition; lofty aspiration

Definition

noun
great ambitionlofty aspiration

Examples

  • 雄心
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù huái yǒu xióng xīn.
    He has harbored great ambitions since childhood.
  • 雄心
    Zhè cì chuàng yè shī bài bìng méi yǒu mó miè tā de xióng xīn.
    This startup failure did not extinguish his lofty aspirations.
  • 雄心
    Tā yǐ xióng xīn hé yì lì wán chéng le zhè xiàng jiān jù de rèn wu.
    She completed this arduous task with great ambition and perseverance.

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.

xióngheroic
xīnheart

A heroic (雄) heart (心) carries great ambition.

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

雄 is formed by putting 隹 together with 厷, with 厷 giving the character's sound.

Open 雄 →

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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