zhūn
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 earnest; sincere; tireless (in giving advice)

Examples

HSK 6
Lǎoshī zhūnzhūn-jiàodǎo wǒmen yào chéngshí.
The teacher patiently and earnestly taught us to be honest.
HSK 7-9
Fùqīn de huàyǔ zhūnzhūn, wǒ zhìjīn nánwàng.
My father's earnest words I still cannot forget.

Tips

usage
In modern Chinese almost always appears doubled as 谆谆 ('patiently and earnestly'), especially of an elder advising a junior. Most famous collocation: 谆谆教导.
history
From 《诗经·大雅·抑》: 诲尔谆谆 ('teach you earnestly') - the classical source for the doubled form.

Components

radical
yán
speech; word
Speech on the left marks as a verbal act - earnest, repeated advising, the slow patient kind that an elder offers. It joins , , in the family of teaching and exhortation characters where words shape character.
phonetic
xiǎng
to enjoy; offer
Carries the sound, drifting from xiǎng to zhūn along an Old Chinese pattern. The right side fills the phonetic slot; the 'enjoy' meaning has no role here.

Stroke Order

zhūn