心魔

xīnmó

noun

Measure Word

一个心魔 gè

Meanings

1 inner demon
2 psychological obstacle; obsession

Characters

Examples

想成功就得先战胜自己的心魔。

Xiǎng chénggōng jiù děi xiān zhànshèng zìjǐ de xīnmó.

To succeed, you first have to conquer your inner demons.

拖延症是很多人最大的心魔。

Tuōyánzhèng shì hěn duō rén zuì dà de xīnmó.

Procrastination is many people's biggest inner demon.

Tips

culture

心魔 has Buddhist roots — 魔 ('demon, Mara') is the tempter who tries to derail spiritual practice from within. Modern usage drops the religious frame and just means a self-defeating mental pattern: addiction, fear, jealousy, perfectionism.

Stroke Order

心 xīn

魔 mó