(qíng rén) - lover, sweetheart in Mandarin
qíngrénTraditional: 情人
Translation
lover, sweetheart
Word origin
情 (qíng, feeling, affection, romantic sentiment) in front of 人 (rén, person), so a person one has feelings for.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 情 (qíng, affection) + 人 (rén, person)
Stroke order
情
人
Examples
。
They were once a pair of lovers.
。
On Valentine's Day all the restaurants were full.
。
She does not want to be anyone's mistress.
。
This song was written for a lover.
散步。
They walked through the park like lovers.
情人 (qíng rén) is a lover: the person you are romantically attached to. In songs, poems and film titles it is warm and unmarked, and 情人节 is simply the name of Valentine's Day, used by everyone whether or not they have one.
Outside that fixed festival name, though, the word has picked up a second life. In plain prose 情人 very often implies a relationship outside a marriage, so 他有情人 will normally be heard as he has a mistress, not he has a girlfriend.
That is the trap, and it is an expensive one. To introduce the person you are dating, say 女朋友 or 男朋友; for a spouse, 老婆, 老公, 妻子 or 丈夫. Reserve 情人 for lyrics, for 情人节, and for the situations where the extramarital reading is the one you actually mean.
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情人: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "情人" (lover, sweetheart): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 48.