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远亲 (yuǎn qīn) — distant relative (by blood or marriage); relative who lives far away

Definition

Literally 'distant kin' — a relative connected to you by blood or marriage but not closely (e.g. a cousin of your grandfather), as opposed to 近亲 (close kin). The 'far' can also refer to where they live.

noun
distant relative (by blood or marriage)relative who lives far away
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 远亲。
    Zhè wèi yuǎn qīn shì wǒ zǔ fù de biǎo dì.
    This distant relative is my grandfather's cousin.
  • 远亲，。
    Suī rán tā men shì yuǎn qīn, dàn guān xì hěn hǎo.
    Although they are distant relatives, they have a good relationship.
  • 远亲。
    Wǒ men jiā de yuǎn qīn dōu zhù zài nán fāng.
    All of our distant relatives live in the south.

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.

远yuǎndistant
亲qīnrelative

远 describes a 亲 who is distant in kinship or distance.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán远yuǎn
Same sound today

远 combines 辶, meaning walk, with 元, used for its sound.

Open 远 →

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
Family & Kinship

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