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钟爱 (zhōng ài) — to cherish; to be very fond of; to dote on

Definition

A formal, written verb meaning 'to cherish / love deeply'. Stronger and more literary than 喜欢; usually takes an object, often a person, art, or tradition one is devoted to.

verb
to cherishto be very fond ofto dote on

Examples

  • 钟爱。
    Tā fēi cháng zhōng ài zì jǐ de xiǎo nǚ ér.
    He dotes on his little daughter.
  • 钟爱。
    Tā duì zhè fú huà tè bié zhōng ài.
    She cherishes this painting very much.
  • 钟爱。
    Lǎo rén zhōng ài chuán tǒng de zhōng guó wén huà.
    The old man has a deep love for traditional Chinese culture.

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.

钟zhōngconcentrate
爱àilove

钟 conveys concentration or deep focus and 爱 means love, so it means to love or cherish deeply.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 钟 →

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
Emotions & Feelings

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