A heart of gold means someone is truly kind, generous and always ready to help. It's warm praise for a person's character, not for one good deed: our neighbour has a heart of gold. It often comes with but: he looks grumpy, but he has a heart of gold.
When would you say a heart of gold?
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have or has + a heart of gold
- Our neighbour has a heart of gold and checks on everyone during power cuts.
- You could see her heart of gold in the hours she spent helping new arrivals.
- He has a heart of gold, even if he finds it difficult to say much at meetings.
What changed
First versionThe caretaker has a golden heart.
RevisionThe caretaker has a heart of gold.
Golden is the usual adjective for gold things, a golden ring, a golden medal, so golden heart feels natural. But the English idiom says the heart is made of gold: a heart of gold. Golden heart will be understood, but it sounds translated. Changing the structure makes the praise natural.
Kind is a calm, plain description. A heart of gold is warmer and more emotional, used about someone people love. The opposite is a heart of stone: She has a heart of stone, so don't expect sympathy.
Your turn
Complete the idiom for a kind character: She has a ___.
Show the answer
heart of gold — The fixed expression is a heart of gold. Golden heart is a literal translation, and native speakers rarely say it.
Write about someone you know with a heart of gold and one thing they did that shows it.
My aunt has a heart of gold and spends every Sunday repairing donated toys.
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