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求爱 (qiú ài) — to woo, to court (romantically)

Definition

A formal/literary verb for romantically courting someone, usually a man pursuing a woman. Almost never used in casual speech — everyday English 'to ask someone out' is closer to 追求 or 约会.

verb
to wooto court (romantically)

Examples

  • 求爱。
    Tā zhèng zài xiàng nà ge nǚ hái qiú ài.
    He is wooing that girl.
  • 求爱，。
    Tā yòng le hěn duō fāng fǎ qiú ài, dàn dōu shī bài le.
    He used many methods to woo, but all failed.
  • ，。
    Tā xiàng tā qiú guò sān cì ài, dōu bèi jù jué le.
    He wooed her three times, and was rejected each time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

求qiúseek
爱àilove

"求" means seek and "爱" means love, so the word literally seeks love and means to court someone.

Characters in this word

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

求 began as a drawing of a centipede.

Open 求 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
旡
旡jì愛ài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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