亲事 (qīn shì) — marriage arrangement; betrothal; matters related to matchmaking and marriage

Definition

亲事 (qīnshì) refers to the formal marriage arrangements between two families — betrothal and matchmaking — rather than the marriage itself or the spouse. Often used as 谈亲事 or 一门亲事.

noun
marriage arrangementbetrothalmatters related to matchmaking and marriage
Measure word · 门
Easily confused

Examples

  • 亲事。
    Tā de qīn shì shì yóu fù mǔ ān pái de.
    Her marriage arrangement was decided by her parents.
  • 亲事。
    Liǎng jiā de qīn shì tán dé hěn shùn lì.
    The marriage negotiations between the two families went very smoothly.
  • 亲事。
    Tā wèi le qīn shì de shì máng le hǎo jǐ gè yuè.
    He was busy for months over the marriage matters.

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.

亲qīnmarriage/kinship
事shìmatter

亲 points to marriage or kinship and 事 to affairs, together naming marriage arrangements.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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