女娃 (nǚ wá) — (dialect) girl

Definition

Colloquial, often dialectal word for 'girl' (a young female child). More everyday and regional than the standard 女孩, and with a cuter, affectionate tone.

noun
(dialect) girl
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 女娃。
    Zhè ge nǚ wá hěn kě ài.
    This girl is very cute.
  • 女娃。
    Lín jū jiā de nǚ wá měi tiān qù shàng xué.
    The neighbor's girl goes to school every day.
  • 女娃。
    Nà ge nǚ wá xǐ huan chàng gē.
    That girl likes to sing.

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
娃wáchild

女 marks female and 娃 means child, together naming a girl.

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 →

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī娃wá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娃 combines 女 (woman) on the left with 圭 on the right; 女 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part.

Open 娃 →

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