亲热
qīn rè · HSK 7
intimate
🤗 亲 close/kin + 热 hot = a warm, close bond: affectionate and intimate
亲 means close or kin (as in 亲人, family), and 热 means hot or warm (as in 热情, enthusiasm). Stack them and you get warmth between people who are close: getting affectionate or intimate with someone.
亲 — 立 (stand) + 木 (tree); simplified from 親
The traditional form 親 combined 亲 (phonetic, depicting a hazelnut tree) with 見 (see), suggesting closeness through frequent seeing of family. In simplified Chinese, 見 was dropped, leaving 亲. It now means 'parent,' 'intimate,' or 'in person,' and as qìng denotes in-laws.
热 — 执 zhí (phonetic) + 灬 fire radical
热 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the bottom 灬 (a variant of 火 'fire') gives the meaning of heat, while 执 on top supplies the sound. Originally written 熱, it depicted fire below a phonetic element, and the meaning naturally extended from physical heat to 'hot' weather and 'enthusiastic' feelings.