si1 cing4私情
Jyutpingsi1 cing4
Yalesī chìhng
Definition
Personal feelings or relationship; a clandestine affair.
- personal feelings, friendship, or relationship
- a secret, illicit, or clandestine love affair
colloquialpeopleemotion
How it's used
Refers specifically to romantic or illicit connections that are kept hidden from the public eye. It carries a strong connotation of impropriety or conflict of interest, often implying that professional judgment is being compromised by personal feelings. While it can mean a general personal relationship, it is most frequently used to describe affairs that are frowned upon or kept secret.
Examples
They have a secret affair, many people in the company know about it.
Don't favor him just because of your personal relationship.
Related words
Common phrases
to develop a secret affair
to involve a personal relationship
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 友情, which refers to platonic friendship. Using 私情 to describe a normal friendship sounds suspicious and implies a hidden, likely romantic or unethical, agenda.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
