娘儿 (niáng ér) — (colloquial, dialectal) mother (in limited contexts, often in fixed phrases)

Definition

娘儿 is a colloquial, often dialectal form of "mother," used mainly in fixed phrases like 娘儿俩 and as a familiar address, not in standard modern Mandarin.

noun
(colloquial, dialectal) mother (in limited contexts, often in fixed phrases)

Examples

  • 娘儿。
    niáng ér Liǎ yì qǐ qù le shì chǎng.
    The mother and child went to the market together.
  • 娘儿，。
    niáng ér Ér, nǐ xīn kǔ le.
    Mother, you've worked hard.
  • 。
    Cūn lǐ rén dōu jiào tā lǎo niáng ér.
    Everyone in the village calls her Old Mother.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

娘niángmother
儿érfamiliar tone

娘 means mother, and 儿 gives a familiar colloquial tone.

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng娘niáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娘 is built from 女 (woman) and 良, which supplies the sound.

Open 娘 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

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