交集

jiāojí

noun HSK 7 #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

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?

看到老朋友，他百感交集。

Kàndào lǎo péngyou, tā bǎigǎn-jiāojí.

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

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 (bǎigǎn-jiāojí) meaning 'a hundred feelings surging at once.' Context always makes the meaning clear.

Stroke Order

交 jiāo

集 jí