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震撼人心 (zhèn hàn rén xīn) — deeply moving, shocking, awe-inspiring (of art, events, experiences)

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'deeply moving / awe-inspiring' — used for art, speeches, or events that strike the heart hard. Stronger and more literary than 感动 or 感人, which just describe something emotional.

verb
deeply movingshockingawe-inspiring (of art, events, experiences)

Examples

  • 震撼人心，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de qíng jié zhèn hàn rén xīn, ràng guān zhòng gǎn dòng dé liú lèi.
    The plot of this movie is deeply moving, making the audience cry with emotion.
  • 震撼人心，。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng zhèn hàn rén xīn, quán chǎng xiǎng qǐ le rè liè de zhǎng shēng.
    His speech was awe-inspiring, and the whole audience burst into warm applause.
  • 震撼人心，。
    Nà chǎng zāi nàn de huà miàn zhèn hàn rén xīn, zhì jīn nán yǐ wàng huái.
    The images of that disaster were shocking, and to this day they are hard to forget.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

震撼shake
震zhènshake撼hànshake
联合Coordinate
人心human hearts
人rénhuman心xīnheart
偏正Modifier + head

震撼, 'shake', acts on 人心, 'human hearts', to move them deeply.

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
雨雨yǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
辰
辰chén震zhèn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

震 combines 雨 (rain) with 辰 (chén), which gives the sound; 雨 is the part associated with the character’s meaning.

Open 震 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 撼 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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