小朋友 (xiǎo péng yǒu) — child | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Friendly, casual way to say 'child' — what adults use when speaking warmly to or about kids. More colloquial than 孩子, less formal than 儿童.

noun

child

Measure word · 个

小朋友，！
xiǎo péng yǒu, Nǐ hǎo!
Hello, child!
小朋友。
Zhè ge xiǎo péng yǒu zài kàn shū.
This child is reading a book.
小朋友。
Hěn duō xiǎo péng yǒu zài gōng yuán wán.
Many children are playing in the park.

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.

朋友friend

联合Coordinate

小 “young” and 朋友 “friend” combine as a friendly word for a child.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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

The old form of 朋 showed two strings of cowries side by side; the modern double shape came from this picture.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

又又友

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

Appears in