心志

xīnzhì

noun #33,157

Meanings

1 will; resolve; aspirations
2 what one's heart is set on

Characters

Examples

HSK 6

她有着坚定的心志，不会轻易放弃。

Tā yǒuzhe jiāndìng de xīnzhì, búhuì qīngyì fàngqì.

She has a firm resolve and won't give up easily.

HSK 7-9

困难磨练了他的心志。

Kùnnán móliàn le tā de xīnzhì.

Hardship tempered his will.

Tips

history

Famously appears in Mencius (《孟子·告子下》): 天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志 - 'When Heaven is about to confer a great mission on a person, it must first burden their heart-and-will.' This single line made 心志 a permanent fixture of motivational and educational discourse.

register

Slightly literary. Modern equivalents: 意志 ('willpower'), 志向 ('aspirations').

Stroke Order

心 xīn

志 zhì