妙龄 (miào líng) — the prime of youth (of a girl); late adolescence

Definition

Literary or written-Chinese word for 'in the prime of youth.' It almost always refers to young women and sounds more elegant than saying 少女.

noun

the prime of youth (of a girl)late adolescence

妙龄，。
Tā shì yí wèi miào líng shào nǚ, chōng mǎn qīng chūn huó lì.
She is a young girl in her prime, full of youthful energy.
妙龄。
miào líng Shí qī de nǚ hái wǎng wǎng zuì zài yì zì jǐ de wài biǎo.
Girls in their late adolescence often care most about their appearance.
妙龄，。
Tā zhèng zhí miào líng, qián tú bù kě xiàn liàng.
She is in the bloom of youth, with boundless prospects ahead.

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.

妙miàowonderful

妙 suggests wonderful and 龄 means age, together naming the prime of youth.

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.

女少妙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妙 combines 女, a woman, with 少, which gives the sound.

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 齡; 龄 is its simplified writing.

齒令齡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

齒齒chǐtooth

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

Same sound today

The traditional form 齡 shows 齒, a tooth, associated with age, and 令 for the sound; simplified 龄 is a later shorthand.