情景 (qíng jǐng) — scene, spectacle; circumstances, situation | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

情景 pairs an emotional or imagined 'scene' with its surrounding 'circumstances' — it leans literary and often appears in回忆、回忆录, unlike plain 情况 (neutral situation).

noun

scenespectaclecircumstancessituation

Measure word · 个

Examples

情景。
Zhè zhǒng wēn nuǎn de qíng jǐng ràng wǒ xiǎng qǐ le jiā xiāng.
This warm scene reminds me of my hometown.
情景，。
Dāng shí de qíng jǐng fēi cháng jǐn zhāng, dà jiā dōu bù gǎn shuō huà.
The situation at that time was very tense; no one dared to speak.
情景？
Nǐ néng jiě shì yí xià dāng shí de jù tǐ qíng jǐng ma?
Can you explain the specific situation at that time?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

情qíngcircumstance

情 and 景 express circumstances and scenes, so 情景 means a scene or situation.

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

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

日京景

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng景jǐng

Same sound today

景 has 日 (sun) with 京, which gives its sound; it originally meant sunlight.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Abstract Concepts

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