娘 (niáng) — mother (informal/affectionate, especially in regional or literary use); young lady (in older or dialectal usage, often as a respectful term)
Definition
娘 (niáng) is a regional or literary word for 'mother' — warmer and more old-fashioned than 妈妈, more colloquial than 母亲. In compounds like 姑娘, it means 'young lady' rather than 'mother'.
noun
mother (informal/affectionate, especially in regional or literary use)young lady (in older or dialectal usage, often as a respectful term)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
Examples
- 娘。Wǒ niáng zuò de cài zuì hǎo chī.My mom's cooking is the best.
- 。Zhè wèi gū niáng shì běi fāng rén.This young lady is from the north.
- 娘，。niáng Měi tiān zǎo qǐ gàn huó, fēi cháng xīn kǔ.My mother gets up early every day to work; it's very hard.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
娘 is built from 女 (woman) and 良, which supplies the sound.
Appears in
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