耐心 nàixīn — patience; patient

Meanings

1. 1

   patience; patient

   耐, to endure, and 心, the heart that does the enduring — the ability to keep going through something slow or repetitive without irritation. It is most often held with 有: 有耐心, to have patience, and lost with 没.

   noun

Character breakdown

• 心

  xīn (first tone, high and level)

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

  4 strokesRadical 心

Example sentences

• 教小孩子要很有耐心。Jiāo (first tone, high and level) xiǎoháizi (third tone, dipping) yào (fourth tone, falling) hěn (third tone, dipping) yǒu (third tone, dipping) nàixīn. (fourth tone, falling)···

  Teaching young children requires a great deal of patience.

• 他没有耐心，做什么都想快点儿完成。/他沒有耐心，做什麼都想快點兒完成。Tā (first tone, high and level) méiyǒu (second tone, rising) nàixīn, (fourth tone, falling) zuò (fourth tone, falling) shénme (second tone, rising) dōu (first tone, high and level) xiǎng (third tone, dipping) kuài (fourth tone, falling) diǎnr (third tone, dipping) wánchéng. (second tone, rising)···

  He has no patience — whatever he does, he wants to finish quickly.

Common mistakes

• Not quite教小孩子要很小心。

  Correct教小孩子要很有耐心。

  小心 is caution against a mistake or accident — watch your step, mind the stove. 耐心 is the patience to keep at something slow or repetitive — teaching a child, waiting in a queue. Being careful will not make a slow task go any faster.

Similar words

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
• 小心xiǎoxīn (third tone, dipping)to be careful, to watch out for
• 放心fàngxīn (fourth tone, falling)to set one’s mind at rest, to stop worrying
• 伤心/傷心shāngxīn (first tone, high and level)sad, heartbroken, grieved