倍儿 (bèi ér) — (colloquial) extremely, very, perfectly

Definition

倍儿 (bèir) is a Beijing-dialect intensifier meaning 'extremely' — strictly colloquial and informal, used in casual speech to emphasize a following adjective. Pairs with short adjectives like 好, 高兴, 棒; not for writing or formal contexts.

adverb
(colloquial) extremelyveryperfectly

Examples

  • 倍儿。
    Zhè cài bèi ér hǎo chī.
    This dish is extremely delicious.
  • 倍儿。
    Tā bèi ér gāo xìng.
    He is very happy.
  • 倍儿。
    Jīn tiān tiān qì bèi ér hǎo.
    Today's weather is great.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

倍bèitimes/fold
儿érerhua

The colloquial word comes from 倍, 'times/fold', plus 儿, and now means 'very' rather than a literal multiple.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu倍bèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

倍 has 人 on the left and 咅 on the right; 人 points to a person, while 咅 gives the sound.

Open 倍 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

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