小心翼翼xiǎo xīn yì yìcautious; careful; prudent
小心翼翼 (xiǎo xīn yì yì) means cautious, careful and prudent. Speakers use it when someone moves or acts with great care so that nothing goes wrong, such as carrying a cup to the table, walking on a slippery road or holding a small child in their arms.
What does 小心翼翼 mean?
- 1.
cautious; careful; prudentidiom
- Figurative meaning
- Cautious; careful; prudent.
What do the characters in 小心翼翼 mean?
- 小small
- 心heart
- 翼not compositional here
- 翼not compositional here
Where does 小心翼翼 come from?
維此文王，小心翼翼。
The story
The phrase comes from the Book of Songs, where a poem says of King Wen that he was 小心翼翼, careful and cautious.
How do you use 小心翼翼?
小心翼翼 often comes before 地 and a verb to describe how carefully someone does something.
Patterns
小心翼翼地 + verb
他小心翼翼地打开盒子。
Tā xiǎo xīn yì yì de dǎkāi hézi.
He opened the box very carefully.
What are some examples of 小心翼翼 in a sentence?
他小心翼翼地把杯子放在桌子上。
Tā xiǎo xīn yì yì de bǎ bēizi fàng zài zhuōzi shang.
He carefully put the cup on the table.
路上很滑，大家都小心翼翼地走。
Lùshang hěn huá, dàjiā dōu xiǎo xīn yì yì de zǒu.
The road is slippery, so everyone is walking very carefully.
妈妈小心翼翼地抱着孩子。
Māma xiǎo xīn yì yì de bàozhe háizi.
Mum is holding the baby very carefully.
How is 小心翼翼 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
你手里拿的是什么？
Nǐ shǒu li ná de shì shénme?
What are you carrying?
- Speaker B:
是一个很贵的花瓶。
Shì yí ge hěn guì de huāpíng.
It's a very expensive vase.
- Speaker A:
难怪你走得这么慢。
Nánguài nǐ zǒu de zhème màn.
No wonder you're walking so slowly.
- Speaker B:
对，我得小心翼翼地拿着它。
Duì, wǒ děi xiǎo xīn yì yì de názhe tā.
Yes, I have to carry it very carefully.
Can you use 小心翼翼 correctly?
0 of 3 answeredWhat should you learn next?
- Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
- HSK 7–9 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
- HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.
Related idioms
- 全心全意quán xīn quán yì(idiom) heart and soul; wholeheartedlyHSK 7–9
- 大街小巷dà jiē xiǎo xiànggreat streets and small alleys (idiom); everywhere in the cityHSK 7–9
- 深入人心shēn rù rén xīnto enter deeply into people's heartsHSK 7–9
- 触目惊心chù mù jīng xīnlit. shocks the eye, astonishes the heart (idiom); shockingHSK 7–9
- 齐心协力qí xīn xié lìto work with a common purpose (idiom); to make concerted effortsHSK 7–9
- 心有余悸xīn yǒu yú jìto have lingering fearsNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
Browse every entry in the Chinese idioms dictionary.
English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.