心魔

xīnmó
noun

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 inner demon
  2. 2 psychological obstacle; obsession

Examples

HSK 6
Xiǎng chénggōng jiù děi xiān zhànshèng zìjǐ de xīnmó.
To succeed, you first have to conquer your inner demons.
HSK 7-9
Tuōyánzhèng shì hěnduō 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