心心相印

Pronunciation: xīn xīn xiāng yìn Literal meaning: Heart and heart mutually seal

Origin & Usage

Heart (心) to heart (心), mutually (相) stamped (印). 印 is a seal pressed into clay or wax, and the metaphor is exact about what Chan Buddhism meant by it: the master's understanding is not explained to the disciple but impressed, so that what appears in the second mind has the same shape as what was in the first. Words are not merely unnecessary on this account, they are the wrong instrument. Chinese now uses it of couples and close friends, and the original claim — identity rather than agreement — is still audible in it.

Examples

English: "The couple understood each other perfectly without words."

Chinese: 这对夫妻心心相印，无需言语。