TongTong
Sign in

恋爱 (liàn ài) — (verb) to be in love; to have a romantic relationship; (noun) romantic love; romance

Definition

恋爱 is specifically a romantic relationship between people dating — both the ongoing state and the act of being in one. Compare 爱情 (the abstract feeling of romantic love) and 爱 (to love, used for people, things, and ideas).

verb
to be in loveto have a romantic relationship
noun
romantic loveromance
Measure word · 个, 场

Examples

  • 恋爱。
    Tā men zhōng yú liàn ài le.
    They are finally in love.
  • 恋爱。
    Nà chǎng liàn ài ràng tā chéng zhǎng le hěn duō.
    That romance made him grow a lot.
  • 。
    Wǒ cóng lái méi tán guò liàn ài.
    I have never been in love.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

恋liànattachment
爱àilove

“恋” (attachment) and “爱” (love) together mean romantic love.

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 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 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Romance & Marriage3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.