情敌 (qíng dí) — rival in love | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

rival in love

Measure word · 个

Examples

情敌。
Tā fā xiàn zì jǐ de qíng dí jìng rán shì duō nián de hǎo péng you.
She discovered that her rival in love turned out to be a longtime good friend.
情敌，。
Miàn duì qiáng dà de qíng dí, tā méi yǒu tuì suō.
Facing a formidable rival in love, he did not back down.
情敌。
Tā men liǎ yīn wèi tóng yí gè nǚ hái chéng le qíng dí.
The two of them became rivals in love over the same girl.

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.

情 points to love, and 敌 to a rival; together it means a rival in 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.

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.

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pūto tap; to hit

Sound part声符shēngfú

啻

啻chì敵dí

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Appears in

Romance & Marriage

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