175 Dear

ShaoLan interviews Charlie Hoffs, a 16-year-old student who found a book about Chinese characters when she was 10 and decided to learn the language! Originally 親/亲, combined with other words was a slightly formal word to use when describing relatives. However, Charlie brings in a use of the word which has been made popular by a Chinese retailer when addressing customers. Finally, as a verb, this word also means ”to kiss” so it’s important to use it in the right way!

親/亲 is the character which means ”dear” but combined with other words, can describe lots of different relatives, such as 父親/父亲 ”father” or 母親/母亲 ”mother” as well as 親戚/亲戚 ”relatives.”