相爱相杀

相愛相殺
xiāng'àixiāngshā
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 to have a love-hate relationship
  2. 2 to love and hurt each other in equal measure

Examples

HSK 4
Zhè liǎng gè juésè jiǎnzhí jiùshì xiāng'àixiāngshā de diǎnxíng.
These two characters are the very definition of a love-hate relationship.
HSK 4
Tāmen liǎ xiāng'àixiāngshā le shí nián, zuìhòu háishì fēnshǒu le.
They spent ten years loving and tearing each other apart, and in the end they still broke up.

Tips

culture
A 21st-century online buzzword popularized by fan communities discussing TV dramas, BL/danmei fiction, and sports rivalries. Despite its symmetrical four-character form it is not a classical chengyu - pre-2010 dictionaries don't list it. Now mainstream enough to appear in news headlines.
usage
Applies broadly: romantic couples, frenemies, business rivals, even nations (中美相爱相杀, the US-China love-hate dynamic). The tone is half-tongue-in-cheek; using it about a real bitter conflict can sound flippant.

Stroke Order

xiāng
ài
shā