心酸
xīn suān · HSK 7
to feel sad
💔🍋 心酸 = 心 heart + 酸 sour; a sour heart means to feel sad
酸 literally means sour or achy (the same word for sore muscles). A heart that has gone sour aches with grief, so 心酸 is that bittersweet, choked-up kind of sadness.
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.
酸 — wine/jar radical 酉 + 夋 (phonetic)
酸 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 酉 depicts a wine jar and signals meanings related to fermentation and alcohol. The right side 夋 supplies the sound. Originally describing the sour taste of fermented wine, it broadened to mean 'sour' in general and figuratively 'aching' or 'sad'.