心地善良

Pronunciation: xīn dì shàn liáng Literal meaning: Heart ground kind good

Origin & Usage

A heart-ground (心地) that is kind and good (善良). 心地 is the interesting half: it is Buddhist vocabulary, the mind figured as ground in which actions are planted and from which consequences grow, and it entered ordinary Chinese from that usage and stayed. The full phrase, though, is a plain modern description of character rather than a classical idiom — there is no source text and no story. It describes the disposition rather than the deed, and Chinese uses it of someone whose kindness is taken to be constitutional rather than chosen.

Examples

English: "Despite her wealth and status, she treated everyone with genuine compassion"

Chinese: 尽管她富有且地位崇高，但她对每个人都真诚友善