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手足之情 (shǒu zú zhī qíng) — brotherly affection; deep bond between siblings (especially brothers)

Definition

A literary noun for the deep bond between brothers (literally 'the affection of hands and feet'). More formal and figurative than everyday words for sibling love.

noun
brotherly affectiondeep bond between siblings (especially brothers)

Examples

  • ，手足之情。
    Tā men suī rán duō nián wèi jiàn, dàn shǒu zú zhī qíng yī rán shēn hòu.
    Although they haven't seen each other for many years, their brotherly affection is still deep.
  • 手足之情。
    Zhè fèn shǒu zú zhī qíng ràng tā háo bù yóu yù dì bāng zhù le dì di.
    This fraternal bond made him help his younger brother without hesitation.
  • ，手足之情。
    Zài wēi nàn shí kè, tā men zhǎn xiàn le zhēn zhèng de shǒu zú zhī qíng.
    In times of crisis, they showed true brotherly affection.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

足 was originally drawn as a leg.

Open 足 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & KinshipIdioms & Set Phrases

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