心里话

• Pinyin: xīn lǐ huà
• Hanzi breakdown: 心 = heart; 里 = 里 (inside); 话 = 讠(speech radical) + 舌 (tongue — spoken words)

Meaning

Words from the heart; sincere inner thoughts or feelings that one truly means; what one really wants to say.

Refers to genuine, heartfelt thoughts that are sometimes kept to oneself or only shared with trusted people. Saying '说说心里话' invites someone to be honest and vulnerable. Contrasts with polite or surface-level speech.

Examples

1. 今天我想说几句心里话，这几年和大家共事是我人生中最宝贵的经历之一。 Today I want to speak from the heart: working with all of you these past few years has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life.
2. 孩子长大了，反而不愿意再对父母说心里话，这让她感到十分失落。 As the child grew up, they became unwilling to open up to their parents, which left her feeling very disappointed.
3. 他喝了几杯酒之后，开始说起了一些平时从不提及的心里话。 After a few drinks, he began to talk about things he would never normally bring up—what he really felt.

Usage Guide

Context: personal expression, relationships, sincerity

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 临别之际，她忍不住对老友倾诉了多年来藏在心底的心里话，泪水夺眶而出。(At the moment of parting, she could not help but pour out to her old friend the heartfelt words she had kept buried for years, tears streaming down her face.)
• 领导在全体员工大会上放下官腔，说了几句真正的心里话，赢得了全场热烈的掌声。(The leader set aside official rhetoric at the all-staff meeting and spoke a few truly sincere words from the heart, earning a warm round of applause from the entire room.)

Don't Say

• 心里话 as a verb — it is a noun phrase; say 说心里话 or 讲出心里话 rather than 心里话 alone as a predicate

Origin & History

心里 (inside the heart/mind) + 话 (words/speech) — words that come from deep inside one's heart

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal