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处女 (chǔ nǚ) — virgin; maiden; initial; inaugural (used in compounds like 处女作, 处女地)

Definition

处女 literally means 'virgin / maiden' (a woman who has not had sex), but in compound words it shifts to mean 'first, inaugural, untouched' — as in 处女作 (debut work) or 处女地 (virgin land).

noun
virginmaideninitialinaugural (used in compounds like 处女作, 处女地)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 处女，。
    Tā shì yí wèi chǔ nǚ, cóng wèi tán guò liàn ài.
    She is a virgin and has never been in a relationship.
  • ，。
    Zhè shì tā de chǔ nǚ zuò, yì chū bǎn jiù dà shòu huān yíng.
    This is his debut work, which was very well received as soon as it was published.
  • 。
    Zhè piàn chǔ nǚ dì zhì jīn wú rén kāi fā.
    This virgin land has never been developed to this day.

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.

处chùuntouched
女nǚwoman

“处” (untouched/first) plus “女” (woman) gives a woman who is untouched or first.

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 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夂夂zhǐ
几几jǐtable
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū處chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →

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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