TongTong
Sign in

儿女 (ér nǚ) — children, sons and daughters

Definition

儿女 means one's own children (sons and daughters), used by parents; 子女 is a more formal written synonym for the same sense. The phrase 儿女情长 is a set expression meaning 'deeply in love'.

noun
childrensons and daughters
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 儿女。
    Fù mǔ zǒng shì wèi ér nǚ cāo xīn.
    Parents are always worried about their children.
  • 儿女，。
    Tā yǒu yí duì ér nǚ, yí gè nán hái yí gè nǚ hái.
    He has two children, a boy and a girl.
  • 儿女，。
    Tā men ér nǚ qíng cháng, hěn nán fēn kāi.
    They are deeply in love with each other and find it hard to part.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

儿érson
女nǚdaughter

儿 means son and 女 means daughter, so together they cover children or a son and daughter.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 5Family & Kinship

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.