emotion; affection; feelings
HSK level
感情 is written with 24 strokes (感: 13, 情: 11). The animation replays automatically.
感情 (gǎnqíng) is a noun meaning emotion, feeling, or — most importantly — the affection and emotional bond between people.
It names both a general capacity for emotion (有感情地朗读 'read with feeling') and, far more commonly, the relationship-level attachment between friends, family, or partners: 他们感情很好 means 'they have a close relationship / are very close.' This is the key difference from English: 感情 is usually about the bond between two people, not a single passing emotion. 谈感情 can mean 'to be in a relationship' or 'talk about feelings,' and 伤感情 means 'to hurt the relationship.'
It also covers loyalty and sentiment toward things (对家乡的感情). Register is neutral. Compare 感觉 (impression/sensation) and 情感 (a more literary, near-synonym emphasizing inner emotion).
Character by character
Memory hook: 感 (feel) + 情 (affection) — the felt affection between people.
他们兄弟俩感情特别好。
Tāmen xiōngdì liǎ gǎnqíng tèbié hǎo.
The two brothers are especially close.
spoken
别为了小事伤了感情。
Bié wèile xiǎoshì shāng le gǎnqíng.
Don't hurt the relationship over something small.
spoken
她对这座老房子有很深的感情。
Tā duì zhè zuò lǎo fángzi yǒu hěn shēn de gǎnqíng.
She feels deeply attached to this old house.
neutral
做决定时不能只凭感情用事。
Zuò juédìng shí bù néng zhǐ píng gǎnqíng yòngshì.
When making decisions, you can't just act on emotion.
written
情感 is more literary and emphasizes inner emotion as a psychological state (情感丰富 'emotionally rich'). 感情 emphasizes the bond between people and is more everyday.
爱情 is specifically romantic love. 感情 is any emotional bond — between friends, family, or lovers. All 爱情 is 感情, but not all 感情 is romantic.
友情 is specifically friendship. 感情 is the umbrella term covering friendship, love, and family affection alike.
Acquire it by listening
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