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缠绵 (chán mián) — touching, moving (emotionally affecting, e.g. of music, voice, or memories); tenderly attached, inseparable (of relationships or feelings); tangled, intertwined (literally or figuratively confused)

Definition

Literally 'tangled and lingering' — describes emotions, music, or memories that pull at the heart in a soft, lingering way. Often pairs with 动人 for 'touching' or 悱恻 for a more literary 'yearning' tone.

adjective
touchingmoving (emotionally affecting, e.g. of music, voice, or memories)tenderly attachedinseparable (of relationships or feelings)tangledintertwined (literally or figuratively confused)

Examples

  • 缠绵。
    Tā chàng de gē fēi cháng chán mián dòng rén.
    The song she sang is very touching and moving.
  • 缠绵，。
    Tā men liǎ de gǎn qíng hěn chán mián, shuí yě lí bù kāi shuí.
    Their feelings are tenderly attached, neither can leave the other.
  • 缠绵，。
    Nà duàn huí yì chán mián zài xīn tóu, hěn nán wàng jì.
    That memory clings to the heart, hard to forget.

Origin

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 纏; 缠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
廛
廛chán纏chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 纏 combines 糸 (silk) with 廛 as the sound part; the simplified 缠 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 缠 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 绵 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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