孕妇 (yùn fù) — pregnant woman | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Specifically a pregnant woman (a woman who is expecting a baby). 妇女 is the general word for 'woman' with no reference to pregnancy.

noun

pregnant woman

Measure word · 个

孕妇。
Zhè wèi yùn fù měi tiān sàn bù bàn xiǎo shí.
This pregnant woman takes a half-hour walk every day.
孕妇。
yùn fù Yào zhù yì yǐn shí jūn héng.
Pregnant women should pay attention to a balanced diet.
孕妇。
Yī shēng gěi yùn fù zuò le yí cì jiǎn chá.
The doctor gave the pregnant woman a check-up.

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.

孕yùnpregnant

“孕” (pregnant) and “妇” (woman) combine to mean a pregnant woman.

Characters in this word

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

孕 is drawn as a pregnant woman with a fetus.

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 婦; 妇 is its simplified writing.

女帚婦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

帚

帚zhǒu婦fù

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 婦 pairs 女 (woman) with 帚 (broom), and the Shuowen reads it as a woman holding a broom. The simplified 妇 is a shorthand.

Appears in