情话 (qíng huà) — romantic words; sweet nothings; intimate talk between lovers

Definition

情话 (qínghuà) are affectionate words exchanged between romantic partners — 'sweet nothings' or 'loving words,' spoken or written, not everyday small talk.

noun
romantic wordssweet nothingsintimate talk between lovers
Measure word · 句
Easily confused

Examples

  • 情话。
    Tā xǐ huan zài shuì qián duì tā shuō yì xiē qíng huà.
    He likes to whisper sweet nothings to her before sleep.
  • 情话。
    Tā bǎ wǒ xiě guò de qíng huà dōu zhēn cáng zài yí gè xiǎo hé zi lǐ.
    She treasures all the sweet words I wrote in a small box.
  • ，。
    Gāng liàn ài de rén zǒng ài shuō qíng huà, dàn jiǔ le jiù bù shuō le.
    People newly in love always like to say sweet nothings, but after a long time they stop.

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qínglove
话huàwords

情 (love) specifies the topic of 话 (words), giving intimate talk.

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.

Open 情 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →

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