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夜猫子 (yè māo zi) — night owl (figurative, a person who stays up late)

Definition

Literally 'night cat,' a colloquial nickname for someone who stays up late and is lively at night. Playful and idiomatic — not a literal cat.

noun
night owl (figurative, a person who stays up late)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 夜猫子，。
    Wǒ zhēn shì gè yè māo zi, měi tiān líng chén sān diǎn cái shuì.
    I'm a real night owl; I don't go to bed until 3 AM every day.
  • 夜猫子，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù shì gè yè māo zi, wǎn shàng jīng shén tè bié hǎo.
    He has been a night owl since childhood — he's especially energetic at night.
  • 夜猫子？。
    Nǐ yě shì yè māo zi ma? wǒ wǎn shàng zǒng shì shuì bù zháo.
    Are you a night owl too? I can never fall asleep at night.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

夜猫night cat
夜yènight猫māocat
偏正Modifier + head
子zǐperson/creature

夜猫, a night cat, plus 子 gives a person who stays up late.

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
夕夕xīmoon
Sound part声符shēngfú
亦
亦yì夜yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

Open 夜 →

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
苗
苗miáo猫māo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

猫 puts 犬 beside 苗; 犬 marks the animal sense, and 苗 gives the sound.

Open 猫 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
People (General)

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