爱好者 (ài hào zhě) — enthusiast, fan, lover (of a hobby, sport, art, etc.)

Definition

爱好者 is a person who actively enjoys or pursues a hobby (音乐爱好者, 摄影爱好者). Unlike a casual fan, it implies personal involvement and enthusiasm for the activity itself.

noun
enthusiastfanlover (of a hobby, sport, art, etc.)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 爱好者。
    Tā men dōu shì zhè zhī yuè duì de ài hào zhě.
    They are all fans of this band.
  • 爱好者。
    Shè yǐng ài hào zhě xū yào yì tái hǎo de xiàng jī.
    Photography enthusiasts need a good camera.
  • 爱好者。
    Hěn duō jīng jù ài hào zhě měi tiān lái gōng yuán chàng xì.
    Many Peking Opera lovers come to the park every day to sing.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

爱好love and like
爱àilove好hǎolike
联合Side by side
者zhěone who

爱好者 joins 爱 (love) and 好 (like) with 者 (one who) to mean an enthusiast.

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.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →
Appears in
Hobbies & Pastimes

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