关心
guānxīn · HSK 2
be concerned about
💚 关 = close/shut + 心 = heart; closing your heart around someone = caring
关 means to close or shut (as a gate), and 心 is heart. Together: holding someone inside the gates of your heart — to be concerned about them. The verb 关心 is the everyday word for caring about a person's wellbeing.
关 — door 门 + simplified 关 inside
关 is the simplified form of 關. The traditional character showed a gate (門) with a bolt or crossbar inside, depicting a barred door — hence 'to close' or 'shut'. Meaning later extended to 'pass' (a guarded gate), 'barrier', and figuratively 'concern' or 'connection'.
心 — pictograph of a heart with chambers and aorta
心 is a pictograph showing a stylized heart, with strokes representing the organ's chambers and the aorta at the top. Originally meaning the physical heart, it broadened to cover mind, feelings, and intentions, since ancient Chinese thought located thinking and emotion in the heart.