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娇娃 (jiāo wá) — a cute young girl (with a connotation of being pampered, delicate, or charming)

Definition

A literary/poetic word for a delicate, charming young girl, often with a sense of being pampered. Found mainly in classical-style writing, not everyday speech.

noun
a cute young girl (with a connotation of being pampered, delicate, or charming)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 娇娃，。
    Nà ge jiāo wá xiào qǐ lái zhēn kě ài, jiù xiàng tóng huà lǐ de xiǎo gōng zhǔ.
    That young girl has such a cute smile, just like a little princess from a fairy tale.
  • 娇娃，。
    Tā shì gè bèi chǒng huài de jiāo wá, shén me jiā wù dōu bú huì zuò.
    She's a spoiled young girl who doesn't know how to do any housework.
  • 娇娃。
    Gǔ shī cí lǐ cháng yòng jiāo wá lái xíng róng jiāng nán shào nǚ de róu měi.
    Classical poems often use 'jiāo wá' to describe the gentle beauty of Jiangnan maidens.

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.

娇jiāodelicate
娃wáchild

“娇” gives delicate or charming, and “娃” means child or girl, so the sense is a cute young girl.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嬌; 娇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
喬
喬qiáo嬌jiāo
Same sound today

The traditional form 嬌 has 女 (woman) beside 喬, which gave the sound; the simplified 娇 is a shorthand.

Open 娇 →

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 →
Appears in
Life Stages & AgePeople (General)

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