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男傧相 (nán bīn xiāng) — best man (in a wedding)

Definition

The male attendant at a Chinese wedding who helps the groom — equivalent to the Western 'best man.' Pairs with 女傧相 (bridesmaid); the role combines duties of best man and groomsman.

noun
best man (in a wedding)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • ，男傧相。
    Tā shì xīn láng zuì hǎo de péng you, suǒ yǐ dāng le nán bīn xiāng.
    He is the groom's best friend, so he became the best man.
  • 男傧相。
    nán bīn xiāng Zài hūn lǐ shàng yào fù zé bǎo guǎn jiè zhi.
    The best man is responsible for keeping the rings at the wedding.
  • 男傧相，。
    Xīn niáng de gē ge shì nán bīn xiāng, tā bāng máng ān pái le hěn duō shì qing.
    The bride's brother is the best man; he helped arrange many things.

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.

男nánmale
傧相wedding attendant
傧bīnusher相xiāngassistant
联合Coordinate

男 marks the male role, and 傧相 together name the wedding attendant.

Characters in this word

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

男 is made from 田, a field, and 力, strength. It shows a man working with strength in a field.

Open 男 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →
Appears in
Romance & MarriageSocial Roles & Status

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