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私情 (sī qíng) — personal relationship (often with a private or secretive connotation); illicit love affair

Definition

私情 refers to personal ties or emotional bonds hidden from public view, especially an illicit affair. Use it when private relationships cross into conflict with duty or workplace rules.

noun
personal relationship (often with a private or secretive connotation)illicit love affair

Examples

  • 私情，。
    Tā men zhī jiān méi yǒu shén me sī qíng, zhǐ shì pǔ tōng péng you.
    There is no personal relationship between them; they are just ordinary friends.
  • 私情，。
    Tā hé tóng shì yǒu sī qíng, bèi gōng sī fā xiàn le.
    He had an illicit love affair with a colleague, and the company found out.
  • ，私情。
    Zài zhè ge gōng sī, bù néng yīn wèi sī qíng yǐng xiǎng gōng zuò.
    In this company, you cannot let personal relationships affect work.

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.

私sīprivate
情qíngaffection

私 gives private, and 情 gives feeling or affection, so the meaning is a private love affair.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
厶
厶sī私sī
Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

Open 私 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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