爱慕 (ài mù) — to admire, to adore | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

爱慕 is a formal, literary verb for admiring or being attracted to someone, often romantically. Stronger than 羡慕 (which is envy), closer in feel to 热爱 but used for people.

verb

to admireto adore

Examples

爱慕。
Wǒ ài mù tā yōu yǎ de jǔ zhǐ.
I admire her graceful manner.
爱慕。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù ài mù kē xué jiā de jīng shén.
He has admired the spirit of scientists since childhood.
爱慕。
Tā duì nà wèi yǎn yuán shí fēn ài mù.
He admires that actor very much.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

爱àilove

慕mùadmire

爱 and 慕 both express fondness and admiration, together meaning to adore.

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.

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 →

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

莫㣺慕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

㣺Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

莫

莫mò慕mù

Same sound today

慕 combines 莫 for the sound with the lower 㣺, a form of 心 (heart).

Open 慕 →

Appears in