Chinese

Noun

愛人

1. (Mainland China) spouse, husband or wife
2. sweetheart; lover

Usage notes

In mainland China, 情人 (qíngrén, “lover”) usually refers to a partner in an extramarital relationship except in 情人節／情人节 (Qíngrénjié, “Valentine's Day”). For a person who loves, 愛人／爱人 (“lover”) is popular among elder people, while 戀人／恋人 (liànrén, “lover”) is popular among young people.

Japanese

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese in the late 1800s as a translation of English terms sweetheart or lover. Compare modern Mandarin 愛人 ‎(àiren).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) あいじん [àíjíń] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [a̠id͡ʑĩɴ]

Noun

愛人 ‎(hiragana あいじん, romaji aijin)

1. a lover, a mistress

   Implies an extramarital relationship. Most often used by a man in reference to a woman.

2. (archaic) a sweetheart, a loved one

Related terms

• 恋人 (こいびと) ‎(koibito): a boyfriend, a girlfriend

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

• Yoshida, Masatoshi et.al. Kodansha's Romanized Japanese-English Dictionary. Tokyo: Kodansha International (JPN), 1993. ISBN 4770016034.

Korean

Noun

愛人 • ‎(aein) ‎(hangeul 애인)

1. Hanja form^? of 애인, “lover”.