深情
shēn qíng · HSK 7
deep emotion
💗 深 deep + 情 feeling = deep emotion; the 心 heart-radical in 情 marks it as a feeling
深 means deep (the water radical 氵plus a depth phonetic); 情 means feeling, built on the heart radical 忄. Stack them and you get feeling that runs deep: deep love or strong affection. Sounds like shen-ching.
深 — water radical 氵 + 罙 (phonetic, depth)
深 combines the water radical 氵 with 罙, which depicts a hand reaching into a cave or hollow. Originally it described deep water, then broadened to mean 'deep' in any sense — distance, color, or feeling. The 氵 gives the meaning, while 罙 hints at both sound and the idea of reaching far in.
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.