衷 (zhōng) · inner feelings; heart of hearts

Meanings

1 inner feelings; heart of hearts
2 (originally) inner garment worn next to the skin

Characters

衷

zhōng

inner feelings; sincerity

Examples

HSK 4

我衷心感谢大家的支持。

Wǒ zhōngxīn gǎnxiè dàjiā de zhīchí.

I sincerely thank everyone for their support.

HSK 6

他终于吐露了心中的衷情。

Tā zhōngyú tǔlù le xīnzhōng de zhōngqíng.

He finally poured out his innermost feelings.

Tips

usage

Rarely stands alone in modern Mandarin - usually appears in compounds: 衷心 (sincerely), 由衷 (heartfelt), 苦衷 (difficulties one cannot easily explain), 无动于衷 (unmoved).

memory

The character is 中 ("middle / center") wedged inside 衣 ("clothing"): originally an undergarment "in the middle of the clothes", and by extension what is innermost in a person, the inner feelings.

Components

radical

衣 yī

clothes; garment

Outer 衣 - clothing radical, the indexing radical, wrapped around 中 in an overlay layout (its top dot and the four lower strokes form the outside, while 中 is inserted in the middle). Originally 衷 meant 'inner garment, undershirt'. From clothing closest to the body grew the modern sense 'innermost feelings' (由衷, 衷心).

phonetic

中 zhōng

middle; centre

Inner 中 - a flag-pole pierced through the centre, supplies the sound directly (zhōng = zhōng) and a perfect semantic echo: an undershirt sits at the centre of layered clothing. Same phonetic appears in 仲 (middle of three), 忠 (loyal - middle of heart), 钟 (bell/clock).