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慈爱 (cí ài) — affectionate love; loving kindness (especially of elders toward children)

Definition

A warm, gentle word for the loving kindness of an elder (parent, grandparent, teacher) toward a child. As an adjective it describes a person's demeanor or gaze (e.g., 慈爱的母亲); as a noun it names that quality of affection.

affectionate loveloving kindness (especially of elders toward children)

Examples

  • 慈爱。
    Zhè wèi lǎo rén duì hái zi men fēi cháng cí ài.
    This old person is very kind and loving toward the children.
  • 慈爱。
    Tā yǎn zhōng chōng mǎn le cí ài de guāng máng.
    Her eyes were full of the radiance of affectionate love.
  • 慈爱。
    Mǔ qīn de cí ài ràng tā gǎn dào wú bǐ wēn nuǎn.
    Her mother's loving kindness made her feel extremely warm.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

慈cíkind
爱àilove

慈 and 爱 both convey kindness and love, so together they mean affectionate 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
茲
茲zī慈cí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

慈 has 心 (heart) below 茲, which gives its sound; the heart shows the character relates to feelings such as kindness and love.

Open 慈 →

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
Emotions & Feelings

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