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连理 (lián lǐ) — (noun) trees with interlocking branches (a symbol of inseparable love); (noun) a deeply loving couple (literary)

Definition

Literary noun referring to two trees whose branches have grown together — used as a poetic symbol of an inseparable, devoted married couple. Mostly seen in fixed phrases like 永结连理 ('be united in love forever').

noun
trees with interlocking branches (a symbol of inseparable love)a deeply loving couple (literary)

Examples

  • ，连理。
    Zhè liǎng kē shù de shù zhī cháng zài le yì qǐ, xíng chéng le lián lǐ.
    The branches of these two trees have grown together, forming interlocking branches.
  • ，连理。
    Tā men jié hūn shí, péng you zhù tā men yǒng jié lián lǐ.
    When they got married, friends wished them to be a loving couple forever.
  • ：“连理”。
    Bái jū yì de shī zhōng xiě dào: "zài dì yuàn wéi lián lǐ zhī".
    Bai Juyi's poem says: 'On earth, let us be trees with interlocking branches.'

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.

连liánjoin
理lǐbranches/veins

连 suggests joining, while 理 points to the interlocking branches/veins of trees, evoking a couple united in love.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 連; 连 is its simplified writing.

  • 辶辵chuòto walk
  • 車車jūchariot

The traditional form 連 joins 辶 (walk) and 車 (chariot) to show a man-drawn carriage; this note is about 連, not the simplified 连.

Open 连 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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