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敬爱 (jìng ài) — to respect and love (a person of higher status, such as a teacher, leader, or parent)

Definition

敬爱 combines respect with warm love, used for superiors like leaders, teachers, or elders. Stronger and more emotionally warm than 敬佩 or 钦佩 (which focus on admiring someone's abilities).

verb
to respect and love (a person of higher status, such as a teacher, leader, or parent)

Examples

  • 敬爱。
    Wǒ men jìng ài nà xiē wèi guó jiā zuò chū gòng xiàn de rén.
    We respect and love those who have contributed to the country.
  • 敬爱。
    Tā shì yí wèi shēn shòu jìng ài de xiào zhǎng.
    She is a deeply respected and loved principal.
  • 敬爱。
    Rén mín jìng ài tā men de lǐng xiù.
    The people respect and love their leader.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

敬jìngrespect
爱àilove

敬 and 爱 are the two feelings of respect and love, giving the idea of holding someone in esteem.

Characters in this word

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings

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