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失恋 (shī liàn) — to break up (in a romantic relationship), to be jilted

Definition

失恋 focuses on the emotional side of a romantic breakup — 'to have one's heart broken, to be jilted' — unlike 分手, which is the neutral action of breaking up.

verb
to break up (in a romantic relationship)to be jilted

Examples

  • 失恋，。
    Tā zuì jìn shī liàn le, xīn qíng hěn bù hǎo.
    He recently broke up and is in a bad mood.
  • 失恋。
    Tā shī liàn yǐ hòu kū le yí gè xīng qī.
    After breaking up, she cried for a week.
  • 失恋，？
    Péng you shī liàn de shí hou, nǐ yīng gāi zuò shén me?
    When a friend breaks up, what should you do?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

失shīlose
恋liànlove

失 means lose and 恋 means love, so 失恋 is losing a romantic relationship.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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 戀; 恋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌戀liàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 戀 pairs 心 (heart) with 䜌 as a sound part; 恋 is a later simplified form.

Open 恋 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Romance & Marriage

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