慎 (shèn): careful; cautious

Meanings

1 careful; cautious
2 prudent

Characters

慎

shèn

careful; cautious

Examples

做决定要慎之又慎。

Zuò juédìng yào shèn zhī yòu shèn.

When making decisions, be cautious and then more cautious.

慎言慎行。

Shèn yán shèn xíng.

Be careful with your words and actions.

Tips

usage

慎 is literary and usually appears in set phrases: 谨慎 (jǐnshèn, cautious), 慎重 (shènzhòng, careful/deliberate), 慎言 (shènyán, careful with words). Rarely used alone in modern speech.

Components

radical

忄 xīn

heart; mind (radical form)

Heart radical on the left — the upright side-form of 心, and also 慎's indexing radical. Marks 慎 as an emotional/mental state: being careful and prudent is a matter of the heart in classical Chinese psychology. Same radical in 怕 (afraid), 怀 (cherish), 快 (quick of heart), 情 (feeling), 性 (nature).

phonetic

真 zhēn

true; real

Right side 真 supplies the sound: zhēn → shèn with regular zh-/sh- alternation. 真 also adds direct semantic flavour — being prudent is being TRUE to careful judgement, treating each step seriously. Same phonetic in 镇 (zhèn, town), 填 (tián, fill), 颠 (diān, top) — the 真 cluster spans zh-/sh-/t-/d- readings due to deep Old Chinese variation.

In Pop Culture

慎 Shèn

Shen

League of Legends champion, the Eye of Twilight. A ninja tank from the Kinkou Order whose name (慎 = careful/prudent) fits his defensive, disciplined playstyle.