由衷

• Pinyin: yóu zhōng
• Hanzi breakdown: 由 = from (starting point); 衷 = 衣 + 中 (garment + middle — the innermost chest, true feelings of the heart)

Meaning

Heartfelt; sincere; coming genuinely from the heart. Used to describe expressions of feeling or gratitude that are truly felt, not performed.

Always collocates with expressions of positive emotion: 由衷地感谢 (sincere thanks), 由衷地高兴 (genuinely delighted), 由衷地钦佩 (heartfelt admiration), 由衷的感慨 (heartfelt reflections). The implied contrast is with pro forma expressions of courtesy. More literary and formal than 真心 (genuinely/sincerely) used in informal contexts.

Examples

1. 学生们在荣休典礼上由衷感谢这位改变自己人生的老师。 At the retirement ceremony, the students sincerely thanked the teacher who changed their lives.
2. 这位老革命家由衷感慨，国家独立和人民解放来之不易。 This veteran revolutionary sincerely said that national independence and the people's liberation were hard-won.
3. 真正高明的外交家能用职业表达传递由衷立场，让人感到诚意。 A truly skilled diplomat can use professional language to convey sincere positions and make others feel the honesty.

Usage Guide

Context: diplomacy, ceremony, appreciation, rhetoric

Tone: sincere

Do Say

• 在国宴上，来访元首用汉语由衷感谢中方五十年来的支持。(At the state banquet, the visiting head of state sincerely thanked the Chinese side in Mandarin for its support over the past fifty years.)
• 他解释说，领奖时落泪不是表演，而是四年伤病后由衷的喜悦与感恩。(He explained that his tears at the awards ceremony were not a performance, but the result of genuine joy and gratitude after four years of injury.)

Don't Say

• 我由衷地讨厌他 — 由衷 collocates almost exclusively with positive emotions: gratitude, admiration, joy, respect; using it with negative emotions like hatred sounds incongruous; for genuine negative feelings use 真心 or 打心底里

Origin & History

由 (from — starting point) + 衷 (the heart/inmost feelings — 衣 garment + 中 middle; the innermost part of the chest, hence the heart's true feelings)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal