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相亲 (xiāng qīn) — to go on a blind date (for the purpose of finding a marriage partner); (literary) to be deeply attached to each other

Definition

Casual everyday verb meaning 'to go on a blind date' — arranged or family-facilitated meetings to find a marriage partner. The literary sense ('deeply attached') is rare and almost never what learners will meet.

verb
to go on a blind date (for the purpose of finding a marriage partner)(literary) to be deeply attached to each other

Examples

  • 相亲，。
    Tā jīn tiān qù xiāng qīn le, xī wàng yù dào hé shì de rén.
    She went on a blind date today, hoping to meet the right person.
  • ，。
    Wǒ biǎo mèi xiāng guò sān cì qīn, hái méi zhǎo dào nán péng you.
    My cousin has been on three blind dates and still hasn't found a boyfriend.
  • ，相亲。
    Zài zhōng guó, xiāng qīn shì hěn duō nián qīng rén rèn shi duì xiàng de fāng shì zhī yī.
    In China, blind dating is one of the ways many young people meet partners.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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
Romance & Marriage

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