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宠儿 (chǒng ér) — favorite; darling (a person who is especially favored)

Definition

宠儿 means 'darling' or 'favorite' — a person singled out for special treatment by someone with power, like a boss, the media, or parents. It often carries a slightly critical or envious tone, suggesting favoritism rather than mere affection.

noun
favoritedarling (a person who is especially favored)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，宠儿。
    Tā shì jiā lǐ zuì xiǎo de hái zi, yě shì fù mǔ de chǒng ér.
    She is the youngest child in the family and also her parents' favorite.
  • 宠儿。
    Nà wèi yǎn yuán yí yè zhī jiān chéng le méi tǐ de chǒng ér.
    That actor became the media's darling overnight.
  • ，宠儿。
    Zài zhè ge gōng sī lǐ, tā yì zhí shì lǎo bǎn de chǒng ér.
    In this company, he has always been the boss's favorite.

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.

宠chǒngfavor
儿érchild

宠 means favor and 儿 means child, together they denote a favored child or favorite.

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 寵; 宠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng寵chǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寵 pairs 宀 (roof) with 龍 (dragon): 宀 relates to the meaning and 龍 gives the sound. The simplified 宠 is a later shorthand.

Open 宠 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →
Appears in
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