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人情 (rén qíng) — human feelings; emotional bonds between people; favor; a good turn (often with an implied social obligation); social relationship; personal connections (as in 人情世故)

Definition

人情 covers the social web of favors and obligations between people — "doing someone a favor" implies a debt to repay. Contrast with 交情 (mutual bond built through interaction) and 恩情 (deeper, gratitude-laden kindness).

noun
human feelingsemotional bonds between peoplefavora good turn (often with an implied social obligation)social relationshippersonal connections (as in 人情世故)

Examples

  • ，人情。
    Tā bāng le wǒ yí gè dà máng, wǒ qiàn tā yí gè rén qíng.
    He did me a big favor, so I owe him one.
  • ，人情。
    Zài zhōng guó, sòng lǐ shì biǎo dá rén qíng de yì zhǒng fāng shì.
    In China, giving gifts is a way of expressing social sentiment.
  • 人情，。
    Tā zhè ge rén hěn dǒng rén qíng, dà jiā dōu xǐ huan hé tā xiāng chǔ.
    He is very socially savvy; everyone likes to get along with him.

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.

人rénhuman
情qíngfeeling

人 human plus 情 feeling gives emotional bonds and social favors.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & SocialEmotions & Feelings

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