后妈 (hòu mā) — stepmother (colloquial)

Definition

noun

stepmother (colloquial)

Measure word · 个

Examples

后妈，。
Wǒ de hòu mā duì wǒ hěn hǎo, jiù xiàng qīn mā ma yí yàng.
My stepmother is very good to me, just like my biological mother.
后妈。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù hé hòu mā yì qǐ shēng huó.
She has lived with her stepmother since childhood.
后妈，。
Hěn duō rén duì hòu mā yǒu piān jiàn, qí shí bù yí dìng.
Many people have prejudice against stepmothers, but it's not necessarily true.

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.

后hòulater

妈māmother

The later part describes the mother part, giving a stepmother.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

幺幺yāothread
夊夊suīfoot

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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 媽; 妈 is its simplified writing.

女馬媽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚ

Sound part声符shēngfú

馬

馬mǎ媽mā

Same sound today

The traditional form 媽 pairs 女 (woman) with 馬, which gives the sound. The simplified 妈 is a later shorthand.

Open 妈 →