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女主人 (nǚ zhǔ rén) — hostess; lady of the house

Definition

The female host of a household, party, or event — the woman in charge of welcoming guests and running the home. Pairs with the measure word 位. Contrasts with 男主人 (the male host / master of the house).

noun
hostesslady of the house
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 女主人。
    Tā shì yí wèi fēi cháng rè qíng de nǚ zhǔ rén.
    She is a very warm hostess.
  • 女主人。
    nǚ zhǔ rén Zài mén kǒu yíng jiē měi yí wèi kè rén.
    The hostess welcomed every guest at the door.
  • 女主人，。
    Zuò wéi nǚ zhǔ rén, tā bǎ wǎn yàn ān pái dé jǐng jǐng yǒu tiáo.
    As the hostess, she arranged the dinner party in perfect order.

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.

女nǚfemale
主人master
主zhǔmaster人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head

女 means female, 主 means master, and 人 means person, giving the female master of a house.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
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