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侍女 (shì nǚ) — maidservant

Definition

A formal, literary word for a female servant or maid, typically in historical/royal contexts. Most modern learners encounter it in classical Chinese texts or period dramas.

noun
maidservant
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 侍女。
    Zhè wèi shì nǚ měi tiān dōu yào dǎ sǎo fáng jiān.
    This maidservant has to clean the room every day.
  • 侍女。
    Gǔ dài guì zú jiā lǐ yǒu hěn duō shì nǚ.
    In ancient times, noble families had many maidservants.
  • 侍女。
    Tā shì yì míng zhōng shí de shì nǚ.
    She is a loyal maidservant.

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.

侍shìserve
女nǚwoman

侍 (serve) plus 女 (woman) names a maidservant.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺅Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì侍shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

侍 has 人 (person) paired with 寺, which gives the sound.

Open 侍 →

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 →
Appears in
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