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青春 (qīng chūn) — youth; youthfulness

Definition

青春 (qīngchūn) means 'youth' as a life stage or a quality (youthful energy). 青年 refers to young people themselves; 青春 is the period or the spirit of that time.

noun
youthyouthfulness

Examples

  • 青春。
    Měi gè rén dōu huì jīng lì qīng chūn.
    Everyone experiences youth.
  • 青春。
    Tā chōng mǎn qīng chūn huó lì.
    He is full of youthful energy.
  • 青春。
    Tā zhēn xī duǎn zàn de qīng chūn.
    She cherishes her brief youth.

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.

青qīnggreen/fresh
春chūnspring

青 (green/fresh) and 春 (spring) together mean youth.

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.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún春chūn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

春 combines 艸 (grass) and 日 (sun) with 屯, which supplies the sound and is described as a swollen sprout.

Open 春 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Life Stages & Age

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