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厚爱 (hòu ài) — to love dearly, to cherish deeply

Definition

厚爱 (hòu'ài) is a formal, almost honorific verb for deep, devoted love — used for one's homeland, profession, or a benefactor. In everyday speech, plain 爱 is more common; 厚爱 is reserved for elevated or written contexts.

verb
to love dearlyto cherish deeply

Examples

  • 厚爱。
    Tā hòu ài zhe zì jǐ de jiā rén.
    He deeply loves his own family.
  • 厚爱。
    Zhè wèi lǎo shī hòu ài měi yí gè xué shēng.
    This teacher cherishes every student.
  • 厚爱。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi hòu ài zhè piàn tǔ dì.
    We should deeply love this land.

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.

厚hòudeep
爱àilove

厚 “deep” and 爱 “love” combine to mean deep love or kindness.

Characters in this word

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

  • 厂厂chǎngcliff; cave on a cliff
  • 𣆪𣆪𣆪jug

The shape of 厚 puts 𣆪, a jug, beneath 厂, a cliff or cave.

Open 厚 →

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
Emotions & Feelings

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