人情
rénqíng · HSK 7
human feelings
🎁 人 = person + 情 = feeling; human feelings, and the favors and gifts people exchange
人 (person) plus 情 (emotion/affection) literally means human feeling. By extension it covers the social warmth between people, and the favors or gifts given to keep those bonds; rénqíng debts are obligations you repay.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.
情 — heart radical 忄 + 青 (qīng)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 忄 signals that the meaning involves feelings or inner states, while 青 supplies the sound 'qing'. Originally referring to genuine feelings or emotion arising from the heart, 情 expanded to cover sentiment, affection, and circumstances or situations more broadly.