野心

• Pinyin: yě xīn
• Hanzi breakdown: 野 = 里 (village) + 予 (extend — wild land beyond settlement; untamed); 心 = pictogram of the heart — the seat of emotions, will, and desire

Meaning

Ambition; wild ambition. An intense, often ruthless desire for power, status, or control that goes beyond what is considered proper or restrained.

Unlike the neutral English 'ambition', 野心 in Chinese carries a strong negative connotation of dangerous, self-serving, or scheming overreach. Frequently used in political, historical, and corporate contexts to describe those who seek power at the expense of others. The compound 野心家 (an ambitious schemer) is a common epithet for power-hungry figures.

Examples

1. 这位将领表面上忠于朝廷，暗地里却早已萌生了割据一方、自立为王的野心，只是时机未到，不得不暂且隐忍。 On the surface, the general was loyal to the court, but in secret he had long harbored ambitions to carve out his own territory and proclaim himself king. With the timing not yet right, he had no choice but to lie low for now.
2. 他的野心远不止于坐上公司总裁的位置，而是要将整个行业的规则按照自己的意志重新制定。 His ambition went far beyond becoming the company president—he wanted to rewrite the rules of the entire industry according to his own will.
3. 历史证明，任何由个别野心家发动的侵略战争，最终都难逃覆灭的结局，留给后世的只有无尽的废墟与警示。 History has proven that any war of aggression launched by a handful of power-hungry schemers ultimately meets destruction, leaving later generations nothing but endless ruins and a warning.

Usage Guide

Context: politics, history, business, character assessment

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 调查显示，这名高管多年怀有吞并对手、独揽定价权的野心，并悄然织起利益输送网络。(Investigators found that this executive had long harbored the ambition to swallow rivals and control pricing, and had quietly built a network for funneling benefits.)
• 历史学家指出，帝国覆灭不只因外敌压力，更因内部野心争权，致使中央权威崩溃。(Historians point out that the empire's collapse was not only due to external military pressure, but also to internal power struggles driven by ambition, which led central authority to collapse.)

Don't Say

• 他有野心地努力学习 — 野心 carries a negative connotation of dangerous overreach and cannot be used to praise positive drive; say 他怀着远大抱负刻苦钻研 or 他志向远大、努力不懈 to express admirable ambition; 野心 implies self-serving or destructive intent

Origin & History

野 (wild/untamed — uncultivated land; by extension unrestrained and uncontrolled) + 心 (heart/mind — the seat of intention and desire)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal