verb HSK 5
Traditional 愛憐
ài lián
to love tenderly · to feel affection and pity for · to cherish with compassion

Meaning

爱怜 expresses a tender, protective kind of love mixed with sympathy or compassion. It conveys both affection and a desire to care for someone or something that seems vulnerable or precious. This word often appears in literary contexts or when describing feelings toward children, the weak, or beloved people in delicate situations.

Usage

爱怜 is more literary and emotional than everyday words like 喜欢 or 爱. It's commonly used in written Chinese, literature, and formal speech to describe tender feelings toward someone who evokes both love and protective sympathy. Parents might use it when describing feelings toward young children, or it can describe romantic love with a protective quality.

Examples

  1. 01
    母亲爱怜地看着熟睡的孩子。
    Mǔqīn ài lián de kànzhe shúshuì de háizi.
    The mother looked tenderly at her sleeping child.
  2. 02
    他对那只受伤的小鸟充满了爱怜
    duì zhī shòushāng de xiǎo niǎo chōngmǎnle ài lián.
    He felt deep affection and compassion for the injured little bird.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 爱怜之情
    ài lián zhī qíng
    feelings of tender affection
  • 备受爱怜
    bèi shòu ài lián
    to be deeply cherished

Antonyms

Origin

The compound combines 爱 (love) with 怜 (pity/compassion), creating a nuanced emotion that blends affection with tender sympathy.

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