热心
rèxīn · HSK 4
be enthusiastic about
🔥❤️ 热 (hot) + 心 (heart) = hot-hearted, enthusiastic
Compound of 热 (rè, hot) and 心 (xīn, heart). A hot heart toward something means eagerness or zeal. English parallel: warm-hearted, but 热心 leans more toward enthusiasm and willingness to help.
热 — 执 zhí (phonetic) + 灬 fire radical
热 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the bottom 灬 (a variant of 火 'fire') gives the meaning of heat, while 执 on top supplies the sound. Originally written 熱, it depicted fire below a phonetic element, and the meaning naturally extended from physical heat to 'hot' weather and 'enthusiastic' feelings.
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.