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闺女 (guī nü) — (colloquial) daughter; (archaic) maiden, unmarried woman

Definition

闺女 is the colloquial, affectionate word for 'daughter,' used mainly in northern speech. It is more casual than 女儿 and can also archaically mean 'maiden' (an unmarried young woman).

noun
(colloquial) daughter(archaic) maidenunmarried woman
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 闺女？
    Nǐ jiā guī nü shàng jǐ nián jí le?
    What grade is your daughter in?
  • 闺女，。
    Lǎo zhāng de guī nü tè bié dǒng shì, lín jū dōu kuā tā.
    Old Zhang's daughter is really sensible; all the neighbors praise her.
  • 闺女，，。
    Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè guī nü, yí gè shàng gāo zhōng, yí gè shàng dà xué.
    I have two daughters: one in high school, one in college.

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.

闺guīwoman's chamber
女nǚwoman

闺 evokes a woman's chamber and 女 means woman, giving the sense of a daughter.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閨; 闺 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 圭圭guīpointed jade tablet

The traditional form 閨 has 門 (door) and 圭 (pointed jade tablet), and is described as an arched door shaped like 圭. The simplified 闺 is a later shorthand.

Open 闺 →

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

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Family & Kinship

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