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女儿 (nǚ ér) — daughter

Definition

女儿 means 'daughter' — one's own female child. Contrast with 儿子 (son); 女 alone is an adjective meaning 'female', not a family role.

noun
daughter
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 女儿。
    Wǒ de nǚ ér sān suì le.
    My daughter is three years old.
  • 女儿。
    Tā de nǚ ér zài xué xiào.
    His daughter is at school.
  • 女儿。
    Tā shì wǒ de nǚ ér.
    She is my daughter.

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.

女nǚfemale
儿érchild

女 is female, and 儿 is child, giving a daughter.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →
Appears in
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