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母亲 (mǔ qīn) — mother

Definition

Formal word for 'mother.' More written and polite than the everyday 妈妈.

noun
mother
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 母亲。
    Wǒ de mǔ qīn shì yī shēng.
    My mother is a doctor.
  • 母亲。
    mǔ qīn Zǒng shì duì wǒ hěn wēn róu.
    Mother is always very gentle with me.
  • 母亲。
    mǔ qīn Xǐ huan zài huā yuán lǐ zhòng huā.
    Mother likes to plant flowers in the garden.

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.

母mǔmother
亲qīnrelative

母 specifies the kind of 亲, giving the sense of one's mother.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →
Appears in
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