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交情 (jiāo qing) — personal friendship and mutual obligation built through interaction

Definition

Refers to a friendship built up over time through shared interaction, with an implied sense of mutual obligation. More reciprocal and obligation-laden than 友情, which names the feeling of friendship itself.

noun
personal friendship and mutual obligation built through interaction

Examples

  • ，交情。
    Wǒ men rèn shi zhè me duō nián, jiāo qing dāng rán hěn shēn.
    We've known each other for so many years, of course the friendship is deep.
  • ，交情。
    Tā bāng le wǒ zhè me duō máng, wǒ bù néng bù jiǎng jiāo qing.
    He's helped me so much, I can't disregard our friendship and mutual obligation.
  • 交情，。
    Tā men chú le gōng zuò zhī wài méi shén me jiāo qing, zhǐ shì tóng shì guān xì.
    Beyond work, they don't have much personal rapport — just a colleague relationship.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

交jiāoassociation
情qíngfeeling

交 association and 情 feeling combine to mean the affection built through dealing with someone.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & Social

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