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博爱 (bó ài) — universal love; fraternity

Definition

博爱 (bó'ài) means 'universal love' — loving all people equally, beyond ties of family or nation. In modern Chinese it often appears in political/philosophical contexts (e.g. Sun Yat-sen's 三民主义), unlike the everyday 爱 ('love').

noun
universal lovefraternity

Examples

  • 博爱。
    bó ài Shì yì zhǒng wěi dà de rén wén jīng shén.
    Universal love is a great humanistic spirit.
  • 博爱。
    Tā yì shēng dōu zài chàng dǎo bó ài hé píng děng.
    He spent his whole life advocating for universal love and equality.
  • 博爱。
    Sūn zhōng shān xiān sheng tí chū de bó ài sī xiǎng yǐng xiǎng shēn yuǎn.
    The idea of universal love proposed by Sun Yat-sen has had a profound influence.

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.

博bóbroad
爱àilove

博 broad and 爱 love mean love extended to all.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
十十shíten
Sound part声符shēngfú
尃
尃fū博
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from combining 十 (ten) with 尃; 尃 gives the sound.

Open 博 →

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 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
旡
旡jì愛ài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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