Chinese word

情书

Pronunciation

Pinyinqíng shū

Meaning

  • nounlove letter

Example

我在抽屉里发现了一封情书。wǒ zài chōu tì lǐ fā xiàn le yì fēng qíng shū

I found a love letter in the drawer.

Illustration for 情书 (love letter)

More examples

她昨天收到了一封情书，很惊讶。tā zuó tiān shōu dào le yì fēng qíng shū hěn jīng yà

She received a love letter yesterday and was very surprised.

Core concept

A private written message that puts romantic feelings into words for a loved or admired person.

Common phrases

  • 写情书xiě qíng shū

    write a love letter

  • 收到情书shōu dào qíng shū

    receive a love letter

  • 一封情书yì fēng qíng shū

    a love letter

Similar words

告白gào bái: An open statement that directly reveals personal feelings to someone.
表白biǎo bái: A direct expression of affection or romantic interest toward someone.
信xìn: A general written message sent to a named recipient.

Definition in Chinese

写给恋人或喜欢的人，表达爱情或爱慕之情的信件。xié gěi liàn rén huò xǐ huān de rén biǎo dá ài qíng huò ài mù zhī qíng de xìn jiàn

Word origin

The word is built from 情 (qíng, "feeling") + 书 (shū, "written text"), making the written form of an emotion its defining feature.

Usage tips

  • The measure word 封 (fēng, "letter") is useful in everyday counting expressions for this noun, just as it is for many letters.

Opposites

  • 分手信fēn shǒu xìnbreakup letternoun

Word lists with this word