爱护 (ài hù) — to cherish; to take care of; to protect

Definition

爱护 pairs 爱 (love) with 护 (protect) — active care for something you value, from children and animals to public property. Compared to 珍惜, it emphasizes the protective action, not just emotional valuing.

verb

to cherishto take care ofto protect

Examples

爱护。
Fù mǔ yīng gāi ài hù zì jǐ de hái zi.
Parents should cherish their own children.
爱护，。
Wǒ men yào ài hù dòng wù, bú yào shāng hài tā men.
We must cherish animals and not harm them.
爱护。
Tā fēi cháng ài hù tā de lǎo zhào piàn.
He cherishes his old photos very much.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

爱àicherish

护hùprotect

爱, to cherish, and 护, to protect, work together to mean care for something.

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 →

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

扌户护

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

户

户hù护hù

Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

Appears in