精心

• Pinyin: jīng xīn
• Hanzi breakdown: 精 = 米 (rice) + 青 (blue/green), refined; 心 = heart

Meaning

Painstaking; with great care; meticulously.

Describes doing something with careful thought, planning, and attention. Often used as an adverb before verbs like 准备 (prepare), 设计 (design), 策划 (plan). Implies deliberate effort and consideration, not casual or careless execution.

Examples

1. 这场婚礼是她精心策划了半年的成果。 This wedding is the result of her painstaking planning over six months.
2. 博物馆精心挑选了一百件珍贵文物展出。 The museum carefully selected one hundred precious artifacts for display.
3. 妈妈精心准备的晚餐让全家人都很感动。 The dinner Mom painstakingly prepared touched the whole family.

Usage Guide

Context: preparation, design, events

Tone: commendatory

Do Say

• 感谢你精心准备的礼物！(Thank you for the carefully prepared gift!)
• 这个方案是团队精心设计的。(This proposal was meticulously designed by the team.)

Don't Say

• 我精心地走路。(Don't use for routine actions that don't require planning)

Origin & History

Combines 精 (refined, concentrated) with 心 (heart, mind). Together they mean with concentrated heart/mind — i.e., with great care.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal