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友情 (yǒu qíng) — friendship

Definition

友情 and 友谊 both mean 'friendship' and are interchangeable in most contexts; 友情 is slightly more literary and emphasizes the warm emotional bond. 情谊 is even deeper and more heartfelt.

noun
friendship

Examples

  • 友情。
    Wǒ men de yǒu qíng hěn zhòng yào.
    Our friendship is very important.
  • 友情。
    Wǒ xī wàng wǒ men de yǒu qíng yǒng yuǎn bú biàn.
    I hope our friendship never changes.
  • 友情。
    Duō nián de yǒu qíng ràng wǒ men gèng jiā liǎo jiě bǐ cǐ.
    Years of friendship let us understand each other better.

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.

友yǒufriend
情qíngfeeling

友 gives “friend” and 情 gives “feeling,” so the word denotes the feeling between friends.

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.

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

Open 友 →

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 4Friends & Social

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