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妹子 (mèi zǐ) — younger sister; (colloquial) young woman, girl

Definition

妹子 literally means 'younger sister' but is widely used as a casual, friendly way to address a young woman. Compared with 女孩, it sounds more affectionate and often slightly flirtatious or sisterly.

noun
younger sister(colloquial) young womangirl
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 妹子。
    Wǒ mèi zǐ jīn nián shí wǔ suì.
    My younger sister is fifteen this year.
  • 妹子。
    Nà ge mèi zǐ hěn piào liang.
    That girl is very pretty.
  • 妹子，！
    mèi zǐ, Nǐ lái lā!
    Hey girl, you're here!

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.

妹mèiyounger sister
子zǐsuffix

妹 gives the sense of younger sister, and the form with 子 is also used colloquially for a young woman.

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
女女nǚfemale, woman
Sound part声符shēngfú
未
未wèi妹mèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妹 combines 女, a woman, with 未, which gives the sound.

Open 妹 →

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
Family & Kinship

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