慎 shèn cautious
cautious; prudent
怎么记住“慎”: 忄 heart + 真 truly = cautious. With a nervous heart the new driver truly checks every mirror twice, slow and cautious.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
慎 = 忄 heart + 真 truly
- 忄 heart meaning
- 真 truly sound
- 十 ten
- 具 tool
- 目 eye
- 八 eight
With a nervous heart the new driver truly checks every mirror twice, slow and cautious.
How it came to be
The heart at the left gives the meaning, the right part the sound.
用法
- 慎 is bound, meaning cautious/prudent, and appears in formal advice or decision-making contexts.
- 谨慎 (jǐnshèn) is the standard word for being careful and prudent, often describing how someone approaches decisions: 做事要谨慎 (zuòshì yào jǐnshèn), be cautious in what you do.
- 慎重 (shènzhòng) is close in meaning but leans toward "serious and deliberate" when making an important choice: 慎重考虑 (shènzhòng kǎolǜ), consider carefully/seriously.
- 不慎 (búshèn) means "carelessly, inadvertently" and shows up in written reports of accidents, e.g. 操作不慎 (cāozuò búshèn): careless operation.