What is exactly “having an affair” in English? 
[quote=“douseeme”]What is exactly “having an affair” in English?
[/quote]It usually refers to a married person having a romantic relationship with someone who isn’t his/her marriage partner.
If people have a relationship with a married man,due to the man’s cheating.
ie,he lied he did not get married.
Can it be said “having an affair”?
Yes. “An affair” is usually, but not only about married persons.
He had an affair, she was duped!
Actually sometimes we use affair to describe a short lived romance.
It was a small affair. R.S.V.P. not required. Just cocktails and appetizers.
It was a private affair. By invitation only.
This affair was well-known to the industry. If Airbus has used their in-place ISO9000QC program the wiring mis-match would have been apparent.
It was an affair to remember. A lovely afternoon wedding in the sunshine by the sea.
Such a brief affair - a chance meeting of lonely travelers in an airport bar. And then they parted.
Hey! this affair is none of your business!
Did he put his affairs in order before he died?
[quote=“Buttercup”]http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/concord_e.html[/quote]The results of which confirm what I wrote above:
[quote=“Results from Brown corpus”]1 to their room. “Do you think he could be having an affair”? Barbara asked, as they heard the front doo
2 s ad which read: "ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED OR HAVING AN AFFAIR? We have complete facilities to accommodate
3 the wool over a husband’s eyes while you are having an affair with his wife. If it were not for an old pro
[/quote]
[quote=“Results from U.S. TV corpus”]1 Believe it or not: Paul was convinced I was having an affair because somebody kept calling and hanging up
2 guy… <41:257> hangin’ up because he was having an affair with Noreen? <41:258> [As ELAINE consider
[/quote]
Unsurprisingly, however, there were no results for “having an affair” in the “Anne of Green Gables” database.
Actually, both Joesax and Tainancowboy are correct. Many English words have dual or more meanings, which the native speaker obviously gleans from the context wherein they are used used. I suspect this is the same with all languages.
Sure, and when “affair” is preceded by the verb “have” I doubt the meaning would be anything other than the romantic kind (戀情 - lian4qing2). But then again, context is everything.
When placing “having an affair” in the search field of dictionary.com the following (all romantically slanted) is found: reference.com/search?q=%22ha … r=d&db=web
The dictionary entry for “affair” supports both usages (obviously… 
): dictionary.reference.com/browse/affair but to answer the OP’s question I find this definition of the romantic kind well put and to the point; [color=red]an intense amorous relationship, usually of short duration.[/color]
[quote=“bismarck”]…to answer the OP’s question I find this definition of the romantic kind well put and to the point; [color=red]an intense amorous relationship, usually of short duration.[/color][/quote]OK, but I think that the definition is missing something unless you point out that “having an affair” usually refers to extra-marital relationships.
[quote=“Edgar Allen”]
Actually sometimes we use affair to describe a short lived romance.[/quote]
Then affair has nothing to with “love”,its just a momentary inffatuation.?
[quote=“wisher”][quote=“Edgar Allen”]
Actually sometimes we use affair to describe a short lived romance.[/quote]
Then affair has nothing to with “love”,its just a momentary inffatuation.?[/quote]
No, of course not…
douseeme, why did you add an ‘eye-rolling’ smiley after your question? It has been perplexing me all day.
What is this thread about?
any sort of affair is costly in money at the very least
having an affair means having sex with someone who is not your boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife as the case may be
and 90pct of the time leads to trouble , the other ten percent haven’t been caught yet
and if you married the cheetah you cheated with? he/she is gonna cheat on you too !!!
sorry double post
[quote=“douseeme”]If people have a relationship with a married man,due to the man’s cheating.
ie,he lied he did not get married.
Can it be said “having an affair”?[/quote]
Hi Douseeme:
I think I see what you are asking: “If a married man lies to a woman and says he is not married, and the man and the woman have a sexual relationship, can it be said that she is ‘having an affair’”?
That is an interesting question. The word “affair” (in this context) means a sexual or romantic relationship that does not or cannot last a long time, or that must be kept secret.
There are many different kinds of affairs. A “short-term affair” is an affair that does not last a long time. Sometimes the only difference between a “short-term affair” and a “long-term relationship” is how long the affair or relationship lasts.
There are also affairs that must be secret. Some are “illicit affairs” (“illicit” just means “against the law”). For example, it may be against the law to have a sexual relationship with someone who is very young, or who is your brother or sister, or who is married to another person.
When a married person has a sexual relationship with someone who is not the husband or wife, that is called an “adulterous relationship,” or “adultery.” Most people in English-speaking countries think adultery is morally wrong, and some places have laws against adultery (long ago, many places had such laws).
When English speakers talk to each other, they often leave a lot of words out. Sometimes the context makes the word unnecessary. For example, when we know that a man is married and is having an affair, we do not say “adulterous affair” because any affair he has is adulterous (you can’t have an “affair” with your wife). We just say “affair,” and everyone knows that means “adulterous affair.”
To answer your interesting question: The man is “having an [adulterous] affair”—no question about it. In the minds of most people, and maybe in the eyes of the law, he is guilty of adultery. People would say he is “cheating on his wife.” He is also guilty of lying to the other woman, so people would also say that he “lied to” or “tricked” or “cheated” her to get her to have sexual relations with him.
As for the woman, different people might say different things. Many people would say that she intended to have a “short term affair.” But I would say, maybe she didn’t—maybe she thought this was not an affair, but the beginning of a relationship.
The reason your question is so interesting is not because of the meaning of the word “affair,” but because of the meaning of the word “having.”
Some people might say she was “having” an [adulterous] affair even though she did not know the affair was adulterous. But I bet some people would say that “having” an [adulterous] affair means that you are to blame, and you cannot be blamed for doing something you do not know is wrong. Some people (myself included) might try to avoid using the word “having,” and say she was “involved in” or “tricked into” an adulterous affair.
But I don’t think anyone would say that the woman is “guilty of having an affair” or “to blame for having an affair” in the same way as the man is. One of the most basic ideas about good and bad and right and wrong in English-speaking culture is that a person cannot be blamed or punished for doing something she did not know was wrong.
Thank you very much,clh.
Now I know using the word"having"is not right to my question.
Oh, the word “having” is the right word. “Having” is correct English. But I think some English speakers would not agree with each other about what “having an affair” means in your situation. That is why I think your question is interesting. That is what makes language interesting–even people who are native speakers do not always agree about what a word means.
actually i think many people even use the word “affair” nowadays simply to mean a romantically involved , sexually oriented liaison between two people (could be any sex). and it doesnt even have to involve any cheating.