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爱子 (ài zǐ) — beloved son; favorite son

Definition

Literary or formal term for a parent's beloved son; sounds elevated and is mostly used in writing, public speeches, or when referring to someone else's son with respect. Plain speech would usually just say 儿子.

noun
beloved sonfavorite son
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 爱子。
    Wǒ de ài zǐ jīn nián kǎo shàng le míng pái dà xué.
    My beloved son was admitted to a prestigious university this year.
  • 爱子。
    Tā duì zì jǐ de ài zǐ yāo qiú fēi cháng yán gé.
    He has very strict requirements for his favorite son.
  • 爱子。
    Zhè wèi fù qīn wèi le ài zǐ fù chū le bì shēng xīn xuè.
    This father devoted all his life's efforts to his beloved son.

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.

爱àibeloved
子zǐson

“爱” gives beloved and “子” gives son, so together they name a favorite son.

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 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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