Meaning of 亲人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- one's close relatives
How to use 亲人
亲人 refers to close relatives, often with an emotional, warm tone. It is common in phrases about missing family or losing loved ones. Example: 春节的时候，我很想念我的亲人。(Chūnjié de shíhou, wǒ hěn xiǎngniàn wǒ de qīnrén.) During Spring Festival, I really miss my close relatives.
亲 (qīn) means close or related by blood, and 人 (rén) means person. Put them together and you get the people closest to you: your 亲人 (qīnrén).
Common mistake: Learners often read 亲 with a fourth tone, but in 亲人 it is first tone, qīn. Also, 亲人 is not the same as 家人 (jiārén). 家人 usually means the people in your household, while 亲人 stresses blood or emotional closeness and can include relatives outside your home.
亲人 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
亲 qīn · parent · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
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- 9
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 亲人.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 客人 | kèrén | visitor; guest; customer |
| 好人 | hǎorén | good person; healthy person |
Questions about 亲人
What does 亲人 mean?
亲人 (qīnrén) means "one's close relatives" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 亲人?
亲人 is made of 2 characters: 亲 (9 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 亲人 an HSK word?
Yes. 亲人 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 亲人 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 亲人 is written 親人.
Can 亲人 be used for people who are not actually related to me?
Yes. People sometimes call very close friends or helpers 亲人 to show deep gratitude or closeness, for example disaster victims calling rescue workers 亲人. This is a warm, figurative use.
What is the difference between 亲人 and 亲戚 (qīnqi)?
亲戚 (qīnqi) is a neutral word for relatives in general, including distant ones like cousins or in-laws. 亲人 sounds more emotional and usually means the relatives you are closest to, such as parents, children, and siblings.