的哥 (dī gē) — (slang) male taxi driver, cabby | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

的哥 (dēgē) is a colloquial Beijing-born slang term for a male taxi driver. It's the everyday spoken equivalent of the more neutral 出租车司机.

noun

(slang) male taxi drivercabby

Measure word · 个

Examples

的哥。
Wǒ men jiào le yí liàng dī gē de chē.
We called a cabby's car.
的哥。
Nà wèi dī gē kāi chē hěn wěn.
That cab driver drives very steadily.
的哥，。
Zhè ge dī gē shì běn dì rén, lù hěn shú.
This cabby is a local and knows the roads well.

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.

哥gēbrother

的 names a taxi and 哥 suggests a male person, giving a male cab driver.

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.

白勺的

Meaning part形符xíngfú

白白báiwhite

Sound part声符shēngfú

勺

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

的 pairs 白, related to white or brightness, with 勺, which gives a clue to the sound. Its older form 旳 meant bright.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

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