死心

• Pinyin: sǐ xīn
• Hanzi breakdown: 死 = 歹 (bad, decay) + 匕 — to die; 心 = pictograph of a heart — heart, mind

Meaning

To give up all hope; to resign oneself completely. To abandon desire or expectation for something, having accepted that it is unattainable.

Conveys a state of having fully let go of a previously cherished wish, ambition, or attachment. Can be used to describe someone's deliberate resolution (他终于死心了 — he finally gave up) or to advise someone to accept reality (你死心吧 — give up, it's not happening). The phrase implies finality and emotional closure.

Examples

1. 多次申请被拒后，他终于死心，放弃了出国留学的念头，转而专注于国内发展。 After being rejected many times, he finally gave up and abandoned the idea of studying abroad, turning instead to opportunities at home.
2. 朋友们纷纷劝她死心，告诉她那个人根本不值得她如此坚持。 Friends tried to persuade her to give up, telling her that the person simply wasn’t worth her persistence.
3. 即便希望渺茫，她也不愿轻易死心，仍然坚持寻找解决问题的可能性。 Even though hope was slim, she didn’t want to give up easily and kept insisting on looking for a possible solution.

Usage Guide

Context: relationships, ambition, giving up, advice

Tone: resigned

Do Say

• 面对重重阻碍，他意识到继续坚持下去只会白费精力，于是下定决心彻底死心，重新规划人生方向。(Faced with obstacle after obstacle, he realised that persisting would only waste his energy, and so resolved to give up entirely and map out a new direction for his life.)
• 她用了整整三年的时间才真正死心，接受了那段感情已经无法挽回的事实。(It took her a full three years to truly let go and accept that the relationship was beyond repair.)

Don't Say

• 不要将 死心 用于轻描淡写地说'不感兴趣' — 它特指对曾深切执着之事的彻底放弃，感情色彩较重

Origin & History

死 (dead, to die) + 心 (heart, mind) — for the heart to die; to extinguish the flame of hope or desire within oneself

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal