heart

heart — 名詞

1. the organ inside your chest that pumps blood through your body, keeping you aliv

1.名詞A2
釋義

心臟

胸口內負責輸送血液的器官

the organ inside your chest that pumps blood through your body, keeping you alive.

例句

Tanvi's heart was beating fast after she ran up the stairs.

Tanvi 跑上樓梯後，她的心臟跳得很快。

collocation: heart beats fast / heart pounds

The doctor listened to Christopher's heart with a stethoscope.

醫生用聽診器聽 Christopher 的心臟。

collocation: listen to someone's heart

用法筆記

Often used with verbs describing physical sensation: 'beat', 'pound', 'race', 'thump'. Can also describe heart-related medical conditions like 'heart attack' or 'heart disease'.

常見錯誤

❌My hurt beats fast.
✅My heart beats fast.
💡'heart' and 'hurt' sound similar but are spelled differently.
❌I have a pain in my heart' (for chest pain unrelated to the organ).
✅I have chest pain.
💡'heart' refers specifically to the organ; chest pain can have many causes.

2. a person's emotional nature, especially the capacity for love, kindness, or symp

2.名詞B1
釋義

內心；心腸

人的情感本質，尤指愛心與同情心

a person's emotional nature, especially the capacity for love, kindness, or sympathy — for example, having a warm heart means you care about other people.

例句

Eli has a kind heart and always helps neighbours carry their groceries.

Eli 有一副好心腸，總會幫鄰居提雜貨。

collocation: kind heart / good heart

The old teacher touched the hearts of everyone who knew her.

那位老老師感動了所有認識她的人的心。

collocation: touch someone's heart

同義詞
  • soul

    more spiritual, refers to the immaterial essence of a person rather than just emotion

  • nature

    broader term covering temperament and behaviour, not just emotions

  • compassion

    focuses specifically on sympathy for others' suffering

反義詞
  • cruelty

    indifference or pleasure in others' pain, opposite of kindness of heart

  • coldness

    absence of warm feeling or affection

用法筆記

Frequently found in fixed phrases like 'at heart', 'in one's heart of hearts', 'from the bottom of one's heart'. Often contrasted with 'head' (logic/reason vs emotion).

常見錯誤

❌I love you with all my heart.' (not a mistake, but overused by learners).
✅I truly care about you.
💡sometimes simpler phrasing is more natural.
❌She has a warm heart for animals.
✅She has a soft spot for animals.
💡'warm heart' describes general kindness; 'soft spot' is for a specific object of affection.

3. the most central or essential part of a place, system, problem, or idea.

3.名詞B1
釋義

核心；中心

事物最重要或最中央的部分

the most central or essential part of a place, system, problem, or idea.

例句

The old market is at the very heart of the city.

那座老市場就位在城市的正中心。

preposition: at the heart of

Trust is the heart of any strong friendship.

信任是任何深厚友誼的核心。

同義詞
  • core

    more emphatic, suggests the most fundamental part

  • centre

    neutral term for the middle point of something, less metaphorical

  • essence

    abstract, refers to the defining quality of something

反義詞
  • surface

    the outer or most accessible part, opposite of the essential core

  • periphery

    the outer edge or boundary, opposite of the central part

用法筆記

Almost always followed by 'of' + noun phrase. Common in both spatial contexts ('heart of the forest') and abstract contexts ('heart of the matter'). Not used for the literal centre of a geometric shape.

常見錯誤

❌The heart of the square table is 30 centimetres from each edge.
✅The centre of the table is...
💡'heart' is not used for geometric centres.

4. the firm inner section of leafy vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, or artichoke,

4.名詞B2
釋義

菜心

葉菜類蔬菜最緊密的核心部位

the firm inner section of leafy vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, or artichoke, where the leaves are packed tightly together.

例句

Cut the cabbage in half and remove the hard white heart before slicing.

將高麗菜切成兩半，切片前先去掉白色的硬菜心。

collocation: remove/cut out the heart

The heart of a romaine lettuce is tender and slightly sweet.

蘿蔓萵苣的菜心軟嫩且帶一點甜味。

同義詞
  • core

    more general term; 'core' is used for fruits while 'heart' is for leafy vegetables

用法筆記

Distinct from 'core' (used for fruits like apples). 'Heart' specifically refers to the inner leaves or bud of leafy vegetables. Hearts of palm are a separate culinary ingredient from a different plant part.

常見錯誤

❌I ate the heart of the apple.
✅I ate the core of the apple.
💡'heart' refers to vegetables, not fruits.

5. courage, determination, or emotional strength, especially when you continue desp

5.名詞B2
釋義

勇氣；鬥志

面對困難時的勇氣與決心

courage, determination, or emotional strength, especially when you continue despite fear or difficulty.

例句

The team lost the game but they played with a lot of heart.

那支球隊輸了比賽，但他們打得很有鬥志。

collocation: play with heart / fight with heart

It took a lot of heart for Tendai to speak in front of that crowd.

Tendai 需要在那一大群人面前講話，需要很大的勇氣。

collocation: take a lot of heart (to do something)

同義詞
  • courage

    more direct and common; 'heart' adds emotional warmth that 'courage' lacks

  • determination

    focuses on persistence rather than emotional strength

  • spirit

    overlaps with heart but also suggests enthusiasm and energy

反義詞
  • cowardice

    lack of courage, opposite of having heart in the face of difficulty

用法筆記

Not used simply to mean 'bravery' in everyday speech. Typically appears in set phrases: 'take heart', 'lose heart', 'have the heart to (do something)'. Often in sports contexts describing effort beyond skill.

常見錯誤

❌He showed heart when he saved the child from the fire.' (acceptable but unusual).
✅He showed courage when he saved the child from the fire.
💡'courage' is more natural for brave actions in danger.

6. a design with two rounded lobes on top coming together at a pointed tip below, w

6.名詞A2
釋義

心形

象徵愛情的愛心形狀

a design with two rounded lobes on top coming together at a pointed tip below, widely recognised as standing for romantic attachment or fondness.

例句

Élise drew a small red heart on the card for her mother.

Élise 在送給母親的卡片上畫了一顆小紅心。

collocation: draw a heart

The chocolate box was decorated with pink hearts all over it.

那盒巧克力上到處裝飾著粉紅色的心形圖案。

用法筆記

Very common in Valentine's Day decorations, emoji (❤️), and jewellery. The symbol is distinct from the anatomical heart shape.

7. in a standard deck of playing cards, the suit identified by red heart symbols, t

7.名詞B1
釋義

紅心

撲克牌四種花色之一

in a standard deck of playing cards, the suit identified by red heart symbols, typically ranking above clubs and diamonds in many games.

例句

Jiwoo played the queen of hearts and won the trick.

Jiwoo 打出了紅心皇后，贏了這一墩。

phrase: [rank] of hearts

In the card game, hearts is considered the highest suit.

在這個紙牌遊戲中，紅心被認為是最大的花色。

用法筆記

Always lowercase unless beginning a sentence. The suit name can be used as uncountable ('hearts is trumps') or plural ('I have four hearts'). Often capitalised on scoreboards and in card-game rules.

8. a playing card belonging to the hearts suit, bearing red heart symbols printed o

8.名詞B1
釋義

紅心牌

紅心花色的撲克牌

a playing card belonging to the hearts suit, bearing red heart symbols printed on its face.

例句

Tanvi had only two cards left in her hand — a seven and a heart.

Tanvi 手上只剩兩張牌——一張七和一張紅心牌。

A heart is the card you need to complete the winning hand.

紅心牌正是湊成贏牌所需的那張牌。

用法筆記

This sense overlaps with sense 7 but refers to the physical card itself rather than the abstract suit. A 'heart' (sense 8) is a card from the 'hearts' suit (sense 7).

heart — 動詞