心脏
xīnzàng · HSK 6
heart
❤️ heart + organ — your inner pump that keeps the xin (heart) going strong
心 means heart and 脏 means organ/viscera. Together they literally name the heart-organ, your body's pump. The xīn echoes 心 (heart) you already know, and zàng marks it as a physical organ rather than an emotion.
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.
脏 — flesh radical 月 + 葬 (burial, phonetic)
脏 is the simplified form of two distinct traditional characters. As 髒 it means 'dirty,' with 骨 (bone) hinting at decay; as 臟 it means 'internal organs,' using 月 (flesh) for the body. Modern 脏 merges both, with 葬 ('burial') serving as the phonetic component.