忍心

• Pinyin: rěn xīn
• Hanzi breakdown: 忍 = 刃 + 心 (blade over heart = to endure); 心 = 心 (heart, emotions)

Meaning

To have the heart to do something cruel or painful; to steel oneself to carry out an emotionally difficult action.

Most commonly used in the negative: 不忍心 (cannot bear to; does not have the heart to). Implies emotional resistance to causing or witnessing suffering. Also appears in rhetorical questions expressing moral reproach.

Examples

1. 她不忍心看到孩子因生病而痛苦，决定辞职在家陪伴。 She couldn’t bear to watch her child suffer from illness, so she decided to quit her job and stay home.
2. 你怎么忍心抛下这么多年的感情，说走就走？ How could you bring yourself to walk away from so many years together, just like that?
3. 他忍心说出那句话，让在场所有人都感到震惊。 He actually brought himself to say that, shocking everyone present.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, emotions, relationships

Tone: emotional

Do Say

• 她不忍心拒绝老人的请求，便答应了下来。(She didn't have the heart to refuse the elderly person's request, so she agreed.)
• 你真的忍心让她一个人扛下所有的责任吗？(Can you really bear to let her shoulder all the responsibility alone?)

Don't Say

• 我忍心地帮了他 — 忍心 is not neutral; use 不忍心 for empathetic refusal or 狠下心 (steeled oneself) for difficult resolve. Using 忍心 alone implies coldness

Origin & History

忍 (endure/steel oneself) + 心 (heart/emotion)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal