亲娘 (qīn niáng) — one's biological mother (often used in emotional or literary contexts)

Definition

Literary/emotional term for one's biological mother, stronger and more affecting than the everyday 妈妈 or 母亲. Also used as an exclamation like 'oh my!' in surprise.

noun
one's biological mother (often used in emotional or literary contexts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 亲娘，。
    Tā shì wǒ de qīn niáng, wǒ yǒng yuǎn gǎn jī tā.
    She is my mother; I will always be grateful to her.
  • ，亲娘。
    Suī rán tā shì hòu niáng, dàn bǐ qīn niáng hái téng wǒ.
    Even though she is my stepmother, she treats me better than my biological mother.
  • ，：“亲娘！”
    Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā dà jiào yī shēng: "wǒ de qīn niáng a!"
    Hearing this good news, she cried out, 'Oh my god!'

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.

亲qīnown
娘niángmother

亲娘 joins 亲 (own) and 娘 (mother) to mean one's biological mother.

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng娘niáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娘 is built from 女 (woman) and 良, which supplies the sound.

Open 娘 →

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