春情 (chūn qíng) — stirrings of love; budding romantic feelings

Definition

Literary/classical term for 'stirrings of love' — the romantic feelings that awaken with spring. More poetic and written than everyday words like 爱情.

noun

stirrings of lovebudding romantic feelings

春情。
Chūn tiān de dào lái ràng tā xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le chūn qíng.
The arrival of spring filled his heart with stirrings of love.
春情。
Zhè shǒu shī miáo xiě le shào nǚ de chūn qíng.
This poem describes a young woman's budding romantic feelings.
春情。
Tā duì tā chǎn shēng le chūn qíng.
He developed stirrings of love for her.

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.

春 suggests springtime and 情 means feeling, so 春情 points to tender love 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

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

屯

屯tún春chūn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

春 combines 艸 (grass) and 日 (sun) with 屯, which supplies the sound and is described as a swollen sprout.

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

Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.