有情人 (yǒu qíng rén) — lovers (people in love)

Definition

Literary term for 'lovers' — people in a romantic relationship, typically used in writing or fixed phrases like 有情人终成眷属, not in everyday spoken Chinese.

noun

lovers (people in love)

Measure word · 对

Examples

有情人。
Qī xī jié shì yǒu qíng rén de jié rì.
Qixi Festival is a holiday for lovers.
有情人。
Zhù tiān xià yǒu qíng rén zhōng chéng juàn shǔ.
May all lovers in the world eventually get married.
有情人。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng de shì liǎng gè yǒu qíng rén de gù shi.
This movie tells the story of two lovers.

Origin

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.

有情loving

有yǒuhave情qíngfeeling

动宾Verb + object

人rénperson

A 人 who is 有情, full of feeling, is a lover.

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

肉肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

又

又yòu有yǒu

Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.