奶妈 (nǎi mā) — wet nurse

Definition

A woman hired to breastfeed someone else's baby. In modern online gaming slang it also means a character that heals or supports teammates, but the core meaning is the historical/traditional role of a wet nurse.

noun
wet nurse
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 奶妈。
    Gǔ dài yǒu qián rén jiā dōu huì qǐng yí gè nǎi mā lái wèi yǎng hái zi.
    Wealthy families in ancient times would hire a wet nurse to feed the baby.
  • 奶妈。
    Tā céng jīng gěi nà ge dà hù rén jiā dāng guò nǎi mā.
    She once worked as a wet nurse for that wealthy family.
  • 奶妈。
    Zhè ge cūn zi lǐ de nǎi mā yuè lái yuè shǎo le.
    There are fewer and fewer wet nurses in this village.

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.

奶nǎimilk or nursing
妈māmotherly woman

奶 refers to milk or nursing and 妈 to a motherly woman; together they denote a woman who nurses a child.

Characters in this word

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
乃
乃nǎi奶nǎi
Same sound today

奶 combines 女, a woman, and 乃, which gives the sound.

Open 奶 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 媽; 妈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
馬
馬mǎ媽mā
Same sound today

The traditional form 媽 pairs 女 (woman) with 馬, which gives the sound. The simplified 妈 is a later shorthand.

Open 妈 →

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