义女 (yì nǚ) — adopted daughter; goddaughter (in a ritual or sworn relationship)

Definition

义女 covers both an adopted daughter (taken into a family) and a goddaughter in a sworn/ritual kinship. Unlike 亲生子女, the tie is by formal recognition or ceremony, not by birth.

noun
adopted daughtergoddaughter (in a ritual or sworn relationship)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 义女，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù bèi nà duì fū fù shōu wèi yì nǚ, guān xì yì zhí hěn hǎo.
    She was taken in as an adopted daughter by that couple when she was young, and their relationship has always been good.
  • ，义女。
    Àn zhào chuán tǒng, tā men jǔ xíng le rèn yì nǚ de yí shì.
    According to tradition, they held a ceremony to formally recognize her as a goddaughter.
  • ，义女。
    Zhè wèi lǎo rén méi yǒu qīn shēng zǐ nǚ, zhǐ yǒu liǎng gè yì nǚ péi bàn tā.
    This elderly man has no biological children; only two adopted daughters accompany him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

义yìsworn/adoptive
女nǚdaughter

“义” indicates a sworn or adoptive tie, and “女” means daughter, forming an adopted or goddaughter.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →

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