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抒情 (shū qíng) — to express emotion; to give lyrical expression to one's feelings

Definition

抒情 means expressing emotion in an artistic, aesthetic way — in poetry, music, or other art forms. Unlike 发泄 ('venting'), it is about refined creative expression, not releasing pent-up feelings.

verb
to express emotionto give lyrical expression to one's feelings

Examples

  • 抒情。
    Tā xǐ huan zài shī gē zhōng shū qíng.
    He likes to express emotion in poetry.
  • 抒情。
    Yīn yuè jiā tōng guò xuán lǜ shū qíng.
    The musician expresses emotion through melody.
  • 抒情。
    Tā zhàn zài shān dǐng shàng jìn qíng shū qíng.
    She stood on the mountaintop and poured out her emotions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

抒shūexpress
情qíngemotion

抒 means to pour out, and 情 means feeling, so the result is expressing one's feelings.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ抒shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is a hand, showing that 抒 relates to a hand action. The right side 予 gives the sound.

Open 抒 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & FeelingsLiterature & Poetry

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