脉脉

脈脈

mòmò

adjective

Meanings

HSK 3

她脉脉地看着他，什么也没说。

Tā mòmò de kàn zhe tā, shénme yě méi shuō.

She gazed at him tenderly and said nothing.

HSK 7-9

两人隔着人群脉脉相望。

Liǎng rén gé zhe rénqún mòmò xiāngwàng.

The two of them gazed at each other tenderly across the crowd.

mistakes

脉 is read mò here, not mài as in 脉搏 ‘pulse’. The set phrases are 温情脉脉 ‘tender and affectionate’ and 含情脉脉 ‘looking at someone full of love’.

culture

From a Han poem about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl: 盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语 ‘just one clear stream between them, they gaze at each other and cannot speak’.

脉 mài