TongTong
Sign in

相爱 (xiāng ài) — to love each other

Definition

verb
to love each other

Examples

  • 相爱。
    Tā men xiāng ài yǐ jīng sān nián le.
    They have loved each other for three years already.
  • 相爱，。
    xiāng ài Róng yì, xiāng chǔ nán.
    Loving each other is easy, but getting along is hard.
  • 相爱，。
    Zhè duì lǎo rén yì shēng xiāng ài, lìng rén xiàn mù.
    This elderly couple loved each other all their lives, which is enviable.

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.

相xiāngmutually
爱àilove

相 says mutually, and 爱 names love.

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 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
Romance & Marriage5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.