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疼爱 (téng ài) — to love dearly; to dote on

Definition

疼爱 means to love dearly or dote on someone — typically elders toward a child. 心疼 overlaps heavily but often adds a note of pity, while 宠爱 is more indulgent pampering.

verb
to love dearlyto dote on

Examples

  • 疼爱。
    Nǎi nai fēi cháng téng ài tā de xiǎo sūn zi.
    Grandma dotes on her little grandson.
  • 疼爱。
    Fù mǔ duì hái zi bù néng zhī téng ài ér bú jiào yù.
    Parents should not only dote on their children but also educate them.
  • 疼爱。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù bèi fù mǔ téng ài zhe zhǎng dà.
    She grew up loved dearly by her parents since childhood.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

疼téngcherish
爱àilove

Both 疼 and 爱 carry the sense of caring affection, so together they express loving someone dearly.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèsickness
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng疼téng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

疼 pairs 疒, a sickness marker, with 冬, which supplies the sound.

Open 疼 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings

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