娃 is a bound form (b.f.), meaning it usually appears as part of a compound rather than alone. It refers to a baby or child (女娃 'girl', 男娃 'boy'), and in some regional dialects it also refers to the young of an animal (狗娃 'puppy', 猫娃 'kitten'). The reduplicated form 娃娃 (wáwa) can mean 'doll' or 'baby' as a standalone word.