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暧

曖
ài
adjective #82,018

Meanings

  1. 1 dim; obscure
  2. 2 ambiguous; vague (of attitude or relationship)

Examples

他们的关系很暧昧，不是朋友也不是情侣。
Tāmen de guānxì hěn àimèi, búshì péngyou yěbúshì qínglǚ.
Their relationship is fuzzy, neither friends nor a couple.
他给了一个暧昧含糊的回答。
Tā gěi le yí gè àimèi hánhú de huídá.
He gave a vague, evasive answer.

Tips

usage
Almost always in 暧昧 (àimèi). Beyond literal dimness, it most often describes a romantically ambiguous relationship, or a deliberately unclear attitude or wording.

Components

radical
日 rì
sun; day
The sun radical 日 on the left gives the literal sense of dim daylight, which extends figuratively to anything murky or unclear.
phonetic
爱 ài
to love (phonetic)
爱 (ài, to love) supplies the exact sound. By coincidence the romantic ambiguity sense of 暧昧 sits nicely beside the love character.

Stroke Order

暧 ài