The Chinese word **自尊心** (zìzūnxīn), meaning "self-esteem" or "pride," is a compound noun formed through morphological combination: the first character **自** (zì) means "self," the second character **尊** (zūn) means "respect" or "honor," and the third character **心** (xīn) means "heart" or "mind." Thus, the term is constructed logically by sequentially combining these concepts—**自** and **尊** first form "self-respect," and then **心** is added to indicate that this is an internal, psychological state or feeling, resulting in the complete meaning of "the heart/mind of self-respect," or simply "self-esteem."