爱称 (ài chēng) — term of endearment; pet name

Definition

A 爱称 (ài chēng) is a term of endearment or pet name used to address someone affectionately. It is a formal, written-register term — in everyday speech people just use the nickname itself (e.g. 宝贝) rather than the word 爱称.

noun
term of endearmentpet name

Examples

  • “”，爱称。
    Mā ma jiào wǒ "bǎo bèi", nà shì wǒ de ài chēng.
    Mom calls me 'baby', that's my pet name.
  • “”爱称。
    Tā xǐ huan yòng "qīn ài de" zuò wéi tā de ài chēng.
    She likes to use 'dear' as his pet name.
  • ，爱称。
    Zài zhè qún péng you lǐ, měi gè rén dōu yǒu zì jǐ hǎo xiào de ài chēng.
    In this group of friends, everyone has their own funny pet name.

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àilove/affection
称chēngname

爱 means love or affection and 称 means name, giving an affectionate name.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 稱; 称 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
禾禾hérice
Sound part声符shēngfú
爯
爯chēng稱chēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 稱 pairs 禾 (rice) with 爯, a part giving the sound; it is explained as measuring rice. The simplified 称 is a later shorthand.

Open 称 →

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