心眼儿

• 拼音: xīn yǎnr
• 汉字拆解: 心 = heart (pictograph); 眼 = 目 + 艮 (the eye as aperture of the mind); 儿 = diminutive/erhua suffix

含义

One's inner mind; cleverness; hidden intentions. Context-dependent: can be positive (perceptiveness) or negative (scheming).

Common in northern Chinese dialect. 有心眼儿 can mean 'clever/perceptive' or 'scheming' depending on context. 没心眼儿 means naive or without guile.

例句

1. 她是个有心眼儿的人，什么事都藏在心里不轻易说出来。
2. 这孩子没什么心眼儿，说话直来直去，大家都喜欢他。
3. 做生意要有心眼儿，但绝不能为了利益出卖诚信。

用法指南

语境: daily life, character description, northern Chinese dialect

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 职场上要有点心眼儿，懂得保护自己的权益，但不要走向耍心机的极端。(In the workplace, it pays to have some perceptiveness to protect your own interests, but do not go to the extreme of scheming.)
• 他没什么心眼儿，总是直来直去，虽然偶尔得罪人，但大家普遍认为他值得信赖。(He has no guile whatsoever, always direct and straightforward; although he occasionally offends people, he is generally regarded as trustworthy.)

错误说法

• 他心眼儿了我 — 心眼儿 is a noun, not a verb; say 他耍了心眼儿算计我 instead

起源与历史

心 (heart) + 眼儿 (eye/aperture) — the eye of the heart; the perceptive inner mind

文化背景

时代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal