后爹 (hòu diē) — (colloquial) stepfather

Definition

Colloquial, everyday word for 'stepfather.' It is more casual and spoken than the neutral 继父.

noun
(colloquial) stepfather
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 后爹，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù gēn hòu diē yì qǐ shēng huó, gǎn qíng hěn hǎo.
    He has lived with his stepfather since he was young, and they have a great relationship.
  • 后爹。
    Wǒ hòu diē duì wǒ jiù xiàng qīn shēng fù qīn yí yàng hǎo.
    My stepfather treats me just as well as a biological father would.
  • ，后爹。
    Tā jié hūn hòu, hòu diē gěi le tā hěn duō zhī chí.
    After she got married, her stepfather gave her a lot of support.

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.

后hòustep
爹diēdad

后 indicates a step relation and 爹 is dad, so a stepfather.

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 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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
父父fùfather
Sound part声符shēngfú
多
多duō爹diē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

爹 has 父, meaning father, on top, and 多 below to give its sound.

Open 爹 →

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