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双亲 (shuāng qīn) — both parents

Definition

A formal, written term meaning 'both parents' (father and mother together). More literary than the everyday 父母.

noun
both parents

Examples

  • 双亲。
    Tā de shuāng qīn dōu hěn jiàn kāng.
    Both his parents are very healthy.
  • 双亲。
    Tā měi nián dōu huí guó kàn wàng shuāng qīn.
    She returns to her home country every year to visit her parents.
  • 双亲。
    Wǒ cóng xiǎo jiù gēn shuāng qīn yì qǐ shēng huó.
    I have lived with my parents since I was young.

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.

双shuāngboth
亲qīnparents

双 gives 'both', 亲 gives 'parents', together 'both parents'.

Characters in this word

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

双 is made of two 又 parts side by side. Repeating 又 gives the sense of a pair.

Open 双 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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