Definition
春 (chūn) is a bound morpheme — it cannot stand alone as an independent word in modern Chinese; it always appears as part of a compound, such as 春天 (spring), 春节 (Spring Festival), or 青春 (youth). Its core sense is spring (the season), but in literary and classical contexts it can also evoke love, lust, or vitality (e.g. 春心, 春情, 回春). As a surname, it is relatively rare. Learners should understand that 春 is not used by itself; it functions like a root that combines with other characters to form full words.
b.f.
spring (the season; used in compounds for spring-related concepts)(literary) lovelustvitality (in poetic or classical compounds)a surname
Examples
- ，。Wǒ xǐhuan chūn tiān, yīnwèi huā dōu kāi le.I like spring because the flowers are all blooming.
- ，春。Guò Chūnjié de shíhou, měi jiā dōu tiē chūn lián.During the Spring Festival, every household pastes up spring couplets.
- ，。Tā suīrán bú zài niánqīng, dàn yīrán chōngmǎn chūntiān de huólì.Although she is no longer young, she is still full of the vitality of spring.
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