交集

jiāojí

noun HSK 7-9 #14,749

Meanings

1 intersection (in math: of sets)
2 mixed emotions; a surge of feelings

Characters

to cross; to intersect

set; collection; to gather

In math, it's where two sets overlap. In literary usage, 百感交集 means many emotions flooding in at once - feelings 'intersecting.'

Examples

HSK 4

看到老朋友，他百感交集。

Kàndào lǎopéngyou, tā bǎigǎn-jiāojí.

Seeing his old friend, he was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

HSK 5

两个集合的交集是什么？

Liǎng ge jíhé de jiāojí shì shénme?

What is the intersection of the two sets?

Tips

usage

交集 has two completely different uses. In math class, it means set intersection (A ∩ B). In literature, it appears in the idiom 百感交集 meaning 'a hundred feelings surging at once.' Context always makes the meaning clear.

Stroke Order

交 jiāo

集 jí