婆 (pó) — (bound form) old woman; woman (in certain occupations); (bound form) husband's mother (as in 婆婆); (bound form) maternal grandmother (as in 外婆)
Definition
A bound morpheme meaning 'woman' — appears in compounds for grandmother (外婆, 婆婆) or older women in certain roles (媒婆, 产婆). Never used alone.
bound form
old womanwoman (in certain occupations)husband's mother (as in 婆婆)maternal grandmother (as in 外婆)
Examples
- ，。Wǒ wài pó jīn nián qī shí suì le, shēn tǐ hěn hǎo.My maternal grandmother is seventy years old this year and is in good health.
- ，。Tā pó pó zài yī yuàn gōng zuò, shì yī shēng.His mother-in-law works at the hospital and is a doctor.
- 。Zhè ge méi pó jiè shào le hěn duō duì xīn rén.This matchmaker has introduced many couples.
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.
婆 pairs 女 (woman) with 波, which gives the sound. The 女 part shows the character is about a woman.
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