老妈子 (lǎo mā zi) — maidservant, amah

Definition

老妈子 (lǎo mā zi) is an informal, somewhat old-fashioned word for a female live-in servant or amah. The 老– + noun reduplicating-style suffix 妈子 gives it a casual, even slightly dismissive tone compared to the more neutral 保姆.

noun
maidservantamah
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 老妈子。
    Yǐ qián yǒu qián rén jiā dōu yǒu lǎo mā zi.
    In the past, wealthy families all had maidservants.
  • 老妈子。
    Zhè wèi lǎo mā zi zuò shì hěn qín kuai.
    This maidservant is very diligent in her work.
  • 老妈子。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě le yí gè zhōng xīn de lǎo mā zi.
    The novel describes a loyal maidservant.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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 媽; 妈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
馬
馬mǎ媽mā
Same sound today

The traditional form 媽 pairs 女 (woman) with 馬, which gives the sound. The simplified 妈 is a later shorthand.

Open 妈 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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