慎 shèn cautious
cautious; prudent
How to remember 慎: 忄 heart + 真 truly = cautious. With a nervous heart the new driver truly checks every mirror twice, slow and cautious.
Component breakdown
慎 = 忄 heart + 真 truly
- 忄 heart
- 真 truly
- 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 is used
- 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.