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小妹 (xiǎo mèi) — little sister; (affectionate term for a younger girl); young female servant; nanny (dated)

Definition

A family term meaning 'little sister', also used as a warm address to any younger girl. The 'servant/nanny' sense is dated and refers to a young maid or nursemaid in old China.

noun
little sister(affectionate term for a younger girl)young female servantnanny (dated)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小妹。
    Wǒ de xiǎo mèi jīn nián shí wǔ suì le.
    My little sister is fifteen years old this year.
  • 小妹，。
    xiǎo mèi, Nǐ qù bǎ mén guān shàng.
    Little sis, go close the door.
  • ，小妹，。
    Zài jiù shè huì, tā cóng xiǎo jiù dāng xiǎo mèi, gěi rén dài hái zi.
    In the old society, she worked as a nanny from an early age, caring for children for others.

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.

小xiǎolittle
妹mèiyounger sister

小 gives little or younger, and 妹 gives younger sister, forming little sister.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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nǚfemale, woman
Sound part声符shēngfú
未
未wèi妹mèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妹 combines 女, a woman, with 未, which gives the sound.

Open 妹 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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