心臓
しんぞう · shinzou · JLPT N3 · noun
heart
🫀 心臓 = heart/mind (心) + internal organ (臓): the heart organ
心 (shin) alone means heart as feeling or mind; adding 臓 (zou), the suffix for internal organs, makes it the physical pump. The same 臓 appears in 肝臓 (kanzou, liver) and 腎臓 (jinzou, kidney), so shin + zou = the heart organ.
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.