心疼
xīn téng · HSK 5
to love dearly
💔 心 (heart) + 疼 (ache) = heart aches for someone
Literal compound: 心 means heart and 疼 means to ache or hurt. When your heart aches over someone, you love them dearly or feel deep sympathy — also used when you grudge spending money on something precious.
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.
疼 — sickness radical 疒 + winter 冬 (phonetic)
疼 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The outer 疒 is the 'sickness' radical, signaling illness or bodily discomfort, while 冬 (dōng) inside hints at the sound, which shifted to téng. It originally meant a dull, aching pain and still means 'to ache' or 'to hurt' today.