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恩爱 (ēn ài) — (of a married couple) deeply affectionate and devoted; showing conjugal love

Definition

Used almost exclusively for married or long-term couples (e.g. 夫妻) to describe deep, mutual devotion — not a general word for 'loving' between any two people.

adjective
(of a married couple) deeply affectionate and devotedshowing conjugal love

Examples

  • ，恩爱。
    Zhè duì lǎo fū qī jié hūn wǔ shí nián le, yī rán shí fēn ēn ài.
    This elderly couple has been married for fifty years and is still very deeply in love.
  • 恩爱。
    Zhǐ yǒu ēn ài de fū qī cái néng yì qǐ kè fú kùn nan.
    Only a devoted couple can overcome difficulties together.
  • 恩爱。
    ēn ài De hūn yīn xū yào shuāng fāng gòng tóng fù chū.
    A loving marriage requires mutual effort from both sides.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

恩ēnkindness
爱àilove

恩 (kindness) and 爱 (love) together describe the warm affection between spouses.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
因
因yīn恩ēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

恩 puts 因, which gives the sound, beside 心, a heart.

Open 恩 →

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 7-9Romance & Marriage

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.