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談情說愛

简谈情说爱 · 繁談情說愛

Mandarin · pinyin tán qíng shuō ài

to murmur endearments (idiom)
to get into a romantic relationship

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Characters in this entry

談: tán · talk; conversation; surname
情: qíng · feeling, sentiment, emotion
說: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
愛: ài · love, be fond of, like
谈: tán · talk; conversation; surname
说: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
爱: ài · love, be fond of, like

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4 · tan2 qing2 shuo1 ai4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

談情說愛 · find source passages ↗ · 谈情说爱 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

taam4 cing4 syut3 oi3

Cantonese word readings for 談情說愛. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) for talk of love and romance to fill one's conversation; to be courting; to be dating

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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