Kilo Lingo

(xiǎo xīn) - careful, be careful, watch out in Mandarin

xiǎoxīn

Traditional: 小心

Line drawing of 小心
Coloured illustration of 小心
HSK 3
#328 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

careful, be careful, watch out

Word origin

A two-character compound meaning careful or be careful. 小 (xiǎo) 'small' joins 心 (xīn) 'heart, mind', literally 'small heart', that is, to keep one's heart attentive. 心 is a pictograph of a heart.

Origin
compound
Root
小 (xiǎo, 'small') + 心 (xīn, 'heart'; pictograph of a heart)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 小

Stroke order for 心

Examples

liàng

Be careful of vehicles when crossing the road.

Be careful in what you do.

Watch out for that dog!

liàng

Be careful of cars when crossing the road.

Please hold this cup carefully.

小心 (xiǎo xīn) - careful, be careful, watch out.

Used in

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This word is part of lesson 7.