耐心 (nài xīn) — Chinese Word

noun / adjective HSK 4

nài xīn

patience · patient

Meaning

耐心 means patience or the quality of being patient. It refers to the ability to endure difficulty, delay, or frustration without becoming annoyed or anxious. As an adjective, it describes someone who is calm and tolerant in waiting or dealing with problems.

Usage

Native speakers use 耐心 in both formal and informal contexts. Common patterns include 有耐心 (to have patience), 没耐心 (to lack patience), and 耐心地 (patiently, as an adverb). It's frequently used when describing teaching, waiting, or dealing with challenging situations or people.

Examples

01
老师很有耐心地给我解释了这个问题。
Lǎo shī hěn yǒu nài xīn de gěi wǒ jiě shì le zhè ge wèn tí.
The teacher patiently explained this problem to me.
02
学习汉语需要很大的耐心。
Xué xí Hàn yǔ xū yào hěn dà de nài xīn.
Learning Chinese requires a lot of patience.

Characters

Common collocations

有耐心
yǒu nài xīn
to have patience, to be patient
没耐心
méi nài xīn
to lack patience, to be impatient
耐心地
nài xīn de
patiently
失去耐心
shī qù nài xīn
to lose patience

Antonyms

Origin

The word combines 耐 (to endure) with 心 (heart/mind), literally meaning 'an enduring heart' or 'a heart that can bear things,' which naturally evolved to mean patience.