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单亲 (dān qīn) — single-parent (attributive)

Definition

adjective
single-parent (attributive)

Examples

  • 单亲。
    Tā cóng xiǎo zài dān qīn jiā tíng zhǎng dà.
    She grew up in a single-parent family.
  • 单亲。
    Hěn duō dān qīn mā ma xū yào shè huì zhī chí.
    Many single mothers need social support.
  • 单亲。
    Tā xiě le yì běn guān yú dān qīn jiào yǎng de shū.
    He wrote a book about single-parent parenting.

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.

单dānsingle
亲qīnparent

单 (single) + 亲 (parent) describes having one parent.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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