姻亲 (yīn qīn) — relative by marriage, in-law relation

Definition

A relative connected through marriage (e.g. in-laws), not blood. Pairs most often with 关系 and is often contrasted with 血亲 ('blood relative') in formal or legal contexts.

noun
relative by marriagein-law relation
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 姻亲。
    Wǒ men liǎng jiā shì yīn qīn guān xì.
    Our two families are related by marriage.
  • 姻亲，。
    Suī rán zhǐ shì yīn qīn, dàn tā men xiāng chǔ dé hěn hǎo.
    Even though they're only in-laws, they get along very well.
  • ，姻亲。
    Fǎ lǜ shàng, yīn qīn hé xuè qīn de quán lì bù tóng.
    Legally, the rights of in-laws and blood relatives are different.

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.

姻yīnmarriage
亲qīnrelative

“姻” refers to marriage and “亲” to a relative, so it means a kin relation formed by marriage.

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
因
因yīn姻yīn
Same sound today

姻 combines 女, meaning woman, with 因, which gives the sound; the reference links the whole shape to a marriage involving a woman.

Open 姻 →

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 →

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