媒婆 (méi pó) — female matchmaker

Definition

媒婆 is a traditional female matchmaker who arranged marriages, especially in older or rural China. The word has a folk, slightly old-fashioned flavor — not a modern dating term.

noun
female matchmaker
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，媒婆。
    Zài gǔ dài, méi pó tōng cháng huì bāng zhù nián qīng rén zhǎo dào hé shì de jié hūn duì xiàng.
    In ancient times, matchmakers would help young people find suitable marriage partners.
  • 媒婆，。
    Zhè wèi méi pó fēi cháng yǒu jīng yàn, yǐ jīng cù chéng le hěn duō měi mǎn de hūn yīn.
    This matchmaker is very experienced and has facilitated many happy marriages.
  • ，媒婆。
    Suí zhe shí dài de biàn huà, méi pó zhè ge zhí yè zài xiàn dài shè huì yǐ jīng hěn shǎo jiàn le.
    As times change, the profession of matchmaker has become rare in modern society.

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.

媒méimatchmaker
婆pówoman

媒 indicates matchmaking, and 婆 marks the woman who does it.

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nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
某
某mǒu媒méi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

媒 combines 女, a woman, with 某, which gives it its sound.

Open 媒 →

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nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
波
波bō婆pó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

婆 pairs 女 (woman) with 波, which gives the sound. The 女 part shows the character is about a woman.

Open 婆 →

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