小心 xiǎoxīn — to be careful, to watch out for

Meanings

1. 1

   to be careful, to watch out for

   To take care. What you must watch out for follows directly — 小心车, 小心感冒 — so 小心 plus a noun is a warning, not a wish.

   verb
2. 2

   careful, cautious

   adjective

Character breakdown

• 小

  xiǎo (third tone, dipping)

  small, little; young, junior

  3 strokesRadical 小
• 心

  xīn (first tone, high and level)

  heart; mind, feelings, intention; the centre of something (中心)

  4 strokesRadical 心

Example sentences

• 路上小心，早点儿回来。/路上小心，早點兒回來。Lùshang (fourth tone, falling) xiǎoxīn, (third tone, dipping) zǎo (third tone, dipping) diǎnr (third tone, dipping) huílai. (second tone, rising)···

  Take care on the way, and come back early.

• 天气冷，小心感冒。/天氣冷，小心感冒。Tiānqì (first tone, high and level) lěng, (third tone, dipping) xiǎoxīn (third tone, dipping) gǎnmào. (third tone, dipping)···

  It’s cold — watch out you don’t catch a chill.

Similar words

Words containing 小

• 小xiǎo (third tone, dipping)small, little
• 小时/小時xiǎoshí (third tone, dipping)hour (a length of time)
• 小姐xiǎojiě (third tone, dipping)Miss, young lady

Words containing 心

• 担心/擔心dānxīn (first tone, high and level)to worry, to be anxious about
• 关心/關心guānxīn (first tone, high and level)to care about, to be concerned for
• 放心fàngxīn (fourth tone, falling)to set one’s mind at rest, to stop worrying
• 耐心nàixīn (fourth tone, falling)patience; patient
• 伤心/傷心shāngxīn (first tone, high and level)sad, heartbroken, grieved