亲缘 (qīn yuán) — blood relationship, kinship; (biology) genetic or evolutionary relatedness

Definition

亲缘 (qīnyuán) covers both human blood kinship and biological/evolutionary relatedness between species — think 'consanguinity' in the broad sense. It is a formal, written term, not used in everyday family talk.

noun
blood relationshipkinship(biology) genetic or evolutionary relatedness

Examples

  • 亲缘，。
    Tā men zhī jiān méi yǒu qīn yuán guān xì, zhǐ shì fǎ lǜ shàng de qīn shǔ.
    There is no blood relationship between them; they are only legal relatives.
  • 亲缘，。
    Zhè liǎng zhǒng zhí wù qīn yuán hěn jìn, shǔ yú tóng yí gè kē.
    These two plant species are closely related; they belong to the same family.
  • DNA亲缘。
    Tōng guò DNA jiàn dìng kě yǐ què rèn tā men de qīn yuán shēn fèn.
    DNA testing can confirm their kinship identity.

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.

亲qīnkin
缘yuántie

亲缘 uses 缘, 'tie', of 亲, 'kin', meaning kinship.

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 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 →

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 緣; 缘 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
彖
彖tuàn緣⁰yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緣 puts 糸 (silk) beside 彖, which gives the sound; the simplified 缘 is a later abbreviation.

Open 缘 →

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