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女招待 (nǚ zhāo dāi) — waitress

Definition

Literally 'female + to receive/serve guests' — a waitress in a restaurant or similar setting. The neutral modern term is 女服务员 or 服务员; 女招待 sounds more old-fashioned and is rarely used today.

noun
waitress
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 女招待。
    Nà ge nǚ zhāo dāi hěn yǒu hǎo.
    That waitress is very friendly.
  • 女招待。
    nǚ zhāo dāi Gěi wǒ men ná lái le cài dān.
    The waitress brought us the menu.
  • 女招待。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de nǚ zhāo dāi fú wù hěn hǎo.
    The waitress at this restaurant provides very good service.

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
招待hostess
招zhāoinvite待dàitreat
联合Coordinate

A 招待 (one who 招 invites and 待 treats guests) who is 女 female.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì待dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

待 is built from 彳 on the left and 寺 on the right; 彳 is tied to the meaning, and 寺 gives the sound.

Open 待 →
Appears in
Professions & Jobs

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