12 Practising and expanding: character head components 月 and 心
The 月 head component has two meaning associations:
- The first association is with the moon – normally when it appears on the right side of a character: míng 明 (bright).
The other association is with the body or flesh – normally when it appears on the left side of a character and sometimes at the bottom: pàng 胖 (fat) yŏu 有 (to have).
yuè 月 also functions as an independent character, as in sānyuè 三月 (March).
Characters that contain the 心 head component usually have something to do with emotions and/or thinking: gǎn 感 (to feel). xīn 心 is also an independent character, meaning ‘heart’. The expression xīnshàngrén 心上人 (lit. person in the heart) refers to the person one is in love with.
| Head component | Meaning association | Name of head component | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 月 | moon, flesh | yuè zì páng 月字旁 (lit. moon character side) | péng 朋 (friend) |
| 心 | heart | xīn zì páng 心字旁 (lit. moon character side) | xiăng 想 (to think) |
Activity 15
You have just come across xīn 心 (heart). Below are some adjectives that include xīn 心. Research the meaning of yòng 用，kāi 开，hǎo 好，and fàng 放 and try to work out the meaning of these new adjectives. Match them with their English equivalent.
Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.
-
yònggōng 用心
-
kāixīn 开心
-
hǎoxīn 好心
-
fàngxīn 放心
a.relieved
b.happy
c.attentive
d.kindness
- 1 = c
- 2 = b
- 3 = d
- 4 = a