干爹 (gān diē) — godfather (through a nominal kinship ritual); (slang) sugar daddy

Definition

Literally 'dry father': a man you are bound to by a nominal kinship ritual (拜干亲), not by blood. Also slang for an older man who supports a younger woman financially ('sugar daddy').

noun
godfather (through a nominal kinship ritual)(slang) sugar daddy
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 干爹，。
    Tā xiǎo shí hou bài le yí wèi gān diē, liǎng jiā guān xì yì zhí hěn hǎo.
    When he was young, he took a godfather, and the two families have always had a good relationship.
  • 干爹，。
    Wǎng shàng yǒu rén shuō tā kào gān diē shàng wèi, dàn tā fǒu rèn le.
    Some people online say she got ahead through a sugar daddy, but she denied it.
  • ，干爹。
    Zài chuán tǒng xí sú zhōng, rèn gān diē shì yì zhǒng jiā qiáng shè huì lián xì de fāng shì.
    In traditional customs, taking a godfather is a way to strengthen social bonds.

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.

干gānnominal
爹diēfather

干 gives the nominal, non-blood kinship sense, and 爹 gives father.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
父父fùfather
Sound part声符shēngfú
多
多duō爹diē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

爹 has 父, meaning father, on top, and 多 below to give its sound.

Open 爹 →

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