定心丸
dìng xīn wán · HSK 7
sth that sets one's mind at ease
💊😌 定 settle + 心 heart + 丸 pill = a pill that settles your heart
Each character spells out what it does: 定 means to fix or stabilize, 心 is the heart or mind, and 丸 is a pill. So literally a stabilize-the-mind pill — something that calms your worries.
定 — roof 宀 + 正 (correct/upright, phonetic)
Originally written with 宀 (roof) over 正 (upright/correct), suggesting a household settled and orderly under its roof. Over time 正 simplified to 㐬-like form at the bottom, and the meaning shifted from 'settled home' to the broader senses of 'fix, stable, decide.'
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.
丸 — 九 nine + dot 丶
Originally a pictograph showing a small round object or pellet, depicting something that can be rolled. The modern form resembles 九 with a dot, but historically it derives from 仄 inverted, suggesting something tipping or rolling. It came to mean 'round ball,' 'pellet,' or 'pill.'