亲切(qīn qiè) - kind, warm and friendly (in manner) in Mandarin

亲切 (qīnqiè) describes a person, a voice or a manner as warm and kind, the sort of friendliness that puts you at ease straight away. A teacher who is 亲切 (qīnqiè) with students, or a shopkeeper who greets you 亲切 (qīnqiè), is not just polite - there is real warmth behind it.

It sits between 友好 (yǒuhǎo, "friendly") and 热情 (rèqíng, "enthusiastic, warmly welcoming") on the scale of niceness: 亲切 (qīnqiè) is quieter and gentler than either, closer to "kindly" than "gushing". English speakers often reach for "kind" here, which works, but "kind" alone loses the sense of manner - 亲切 (qīnqiè) is as much about tone of voice and facial expression as about the underlying character.

It is almost always used with 很 (hěn) or another degree adverb before it, as in 很亲切 (hěn qīnqiè), since Chinese stative adjectives like this one need a degree word to sound complete on their own.