After so many years of learning Chinese, I still occasionally find words, phrase, or even characters which remind me why I started learning Chinese in the first place.

And why I still carry on.

Here's one of those words:

忐忑 (tǎn tè)

I means "uneasy" or "unsettled."

Look closely at the two characters and you'll see why

The top halves are 上 and 下 — "up" and "down." The bottom half of each is 心 — "heart."

So from the characters you get it: the heart going up and down.

In other words: unsettled.

It's details like this that remind me why I started learning Chinese in the first place.

Beautiful, visual, and at the same time, so practical.

The language rewards you for paying attention.