Definition

Noun: * One's inmost feelings; one's heart; innermost thoughts and emotions: Refers to the deepest, most personal, and often private feelings, thoughts, and sentiments within a person. It conveys a sense of something profound, heartfelt, and sometimes burdensome or melancholic that is held inside.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cô ấy không biết chia sẻ nỗi lòng với ai. (She doesn't know who to share her innermost feelings with.)
  • Bài thơ này đã diễn tả chính xác nỗi lòng của tôi. (This poem accurately expresses my heart / inmost sentiments.)
  • Anh ấy giấu kín nỗi lòng mình. (He keeps his innermost thoughts hidden.)

Advanced Usage

• "Chia sẻ nỗi lòng": to share one's inmost feelings; to confide.
  • Tôi muốn tìm một người bạn để chia sẻ nỗi lòng. (I want to find a friend to confide in.)
• "Thấu hiểu nỗi lòng": to understand someone's heart/feelings deeply.
  • Rất ít người có thể thấu hiểu nỗi lòng của anh ấy. (Very few people can deeply understand his feelings.)
• "Nỗi lòng riêng tư": private/personal sentiments.
  • Đó là nỗi lòng riêng tư, tôi không muốn nói ra. (Those are private sentiments; I don't want to speak of them.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lòng dạ (n): heart, mind, inner self (often with a nuance of intention or character).
  • Lòng dạ hiền lành. (A kind heart.)
• Tâm tư (n): thoughts and feelings, state of mind (similar to but can be slightly less intense or deep).
  • Tâm tư ngổn ngang. (A tangled mess of thoughts and feelings.)
• Nội tâm (n): inner world, psyche (focuses more on the internal mental and emotional world).
  • Đời sống nội tâm phong phú. (A rich inner life.)

Synonyms

• Tâm can: heart and liver (a literary term for one's deepest feelings).
• Tâm sự: confidences, shared feelings (often refers to feelings that are or can be shared).
• Cảm xúc thầm kín: secret/hidden emotions.

Related Idioms

• "Nỗi lòng son sắt": a loyal/steadfast heart.
  • Nàng đợi chàng với nỗi lòng son sắt. (She waited for him with a steadfast heart.)
• "Chứa chất nỗi lòng": to bottle up one's feelings.
  • Anh ấy chứa chất nỗi lòng đã lâu. (He has bottled up his feelings for a long time.)

1. One's inmost feelings