情商 (qíng shāng) — emotional intelligence; EQ (emotional quotient)

Definition

情商 is 'emotional intelligence / EQ' — the ability to read and manage one's own and others' emotions, a modern buzzword in work and relationship contexts.

noun
emotional intelligenceEQ (emotional quotient)

Examples

  • 情商
    Yí gè rén de qíng shāng gāo dī huì yǐng xiǎng tā de rén jì guān xì.
    A person's level of emotional intelligence can affect their interpersonal relationships.
  • 情商
    Tā tōng guò péi xùn tí gāo le zì jǐ de qíng shāng.
    She improved her EQ through training.
  • 情商
    Lǐng dǎo xū yào jù bèi jiào gāo de qíng shāng cái néng guǎn lǐ hǎo tuán duì.
    Leaders need to have relatively high emotional intelligence to manage a team well.

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.

qíngemotion
shāngquotient

情 (emotion) and 商 (quotient) form the idea of an emotional quotient, or EQ.

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
xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
qīngqíng
Same sound today

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

Open 情 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 商 →

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