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婴儿 (yīng ér) — baby, infant

Definition

婴儿 (yīng'ér) is the neutral, formal word for 'baby / infant' (typically under one year old). 娃娃 is an affectionate, informal word for a young child, not an infant.

noun
babyinfant
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 婴儿。
    Nà ge yīng ér zhèng zài shuì jiào.
    That baby is sleeping.
  • 婴儿？
    Zhè ge yīng ér jǐ gè yuè dà le?
    How many months old is this baby?
  • 婴儿。
    Zhào gù yīng ér xū yào hěn duō nài xīn.
    Taking care of a baby requires a lot of patience.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

婴yīngbaby
儿érchild

The baby and child senses combine to name an infant.

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 嬰; 婴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
癭
癭yǐng嬰yīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 嬰 pairs 貝, carrying the meaning, with 癭 for the sound; the simplified 婴 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 婴 →

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 →
Appears in
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