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宝贝 (bǎo bèi) — (noun) treasure, cherished object; (noun) (term of endearment) darling, baby

Definition

宝贝 is the everyday spoken term of endearment for a person (darling, baby) — warmer than 亲爱, which is more written/literary. As a noun it means a treasured object, more casual than 瑰宝.

noun
treasurecherished object(term of endearment) darlingbaby
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 宝贝，？
    bǎo bèi, Nǐ shén me shí hou huí lái?
    Honey, when are you coming back?
  • 宝贝。
    Zhè ge bǎo bèi shì wǒ zài gǔ dǒng diàn mǎi de.
    This treasure is what I bought at an antique shop.
  • 宝贝。
    Tā de xiǎo bǎo bèi yǐ jīng huì zǒu lù le.
    Her little one can already walk.

Origin

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.

宝bǎoprecious
贝bèishell

宝 precious and 贝 shell combine as a precious shell, hence a treasure or darling.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寶; 宝 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 琡琡chùjade
  • 貝貝bèicowry

The traditional form 寶 shows 宀 (house), 琡 (jade), and 貝 (cowry), drawn together as treasures in a house.

Open 宝 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貝; 贝 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貝, not the simplified 贝, shows a cowrie shell used as money in ancient China.

Open 贝 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 51000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsFamily & KinshipRomance & Marriage

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