舐犊情深
shì dú qíng shēn
a parent’s deep love for a child
Character by character
舐shì
lick
lick
犊dú
calf
calf
情qíng
love
love
深shēn
deep
deep
Example
父亲嘴上严厉，其实舐犊情深，儿子生病时他几天没合眼。
Father sounded stern, but he loved his son dearly: when the boy was ill he did not sleep for days.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
舐 is to lick: an old cow licking her calf. After 曹操 had 杨修 put to death, 杨修’s father 杨彪 said he still felt “the old cow’s love in licking its calf” (老牛舐犊). Written and rather literary.
Learn this in Lesson 226 · HSK 9+: 家书 (Letters home)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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