小班 (xiǎo bān) — junior class; the most junior level in a kindergarten or nursery; (dialect/Taiwan slang) first-rate brothel; high-class whorehouse

Definition

小班 literally means 'small class' — in a kindergarten, it refers to the youngest/lowest class level (the entry step, for ages ∼3). The brothel sense is a separate, unrelated slang usage.

noun
junior classthe most junior level in a kindergarten or nursery(dialect/Taiwan slang) first-rate brothelhigh-class whorehouse
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小班。
    Wǒ de hái zi jīn nián shàng xiǎo bān le.
    My child is in the junior class this year.
  • 小班。
    xiǎo bān De hái zi měi tiān dōu yǒu wǔ shuì shí jiān.
    The children in the junior class have nap time every day.
  • 小班。
    Zhè bù lǎo diàn yǐng lǐ yǒu yí gè chǎng jǐng shì zài xiǎo bān pāi de.
    There is a scene in this old movie that was filmed in a first-rate brothel.

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xiǎosmall
班bānclass

小 means small or junior, and 班 means class, so it denotes the junior class.

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 →

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

  • 珏珏juépieces of jade
  • 刀刀dāoknife

班 shows 珏, pieces of jade, and 刀, a knife, cutting them into pieces.

Open 班 →

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