毛丫头 (máo yā tóu) — young girl (colloquial)

Definition

毛丫头 is a colloquial, often playful or mildly teasing term for a young girl — it implies she is inexperienced or immature, not just young. The first 毛 adds this 'green / unfledged' flavor; tone depends on context.

noun
young girl (colloquial)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 毛丫头，。
    Nà ge máo yā tóu cái shí suì, yǐ jīng huì tán gāng qín le.
    That young girl is only ten years old and already knows how to play piano.
  • 毛丫头，。
    Bié xiǎo kàn zhè ge máo yā tóu, tā kě shì quán xiào dì yī míng.
    Don't underestimate this young girl; she's the top student in the whole school.
  • 毛丫头。
    Lín jū jiā de máo yā tóu měi tiān zǎo chén dōu qù pǎo bù.
    The young girl next door goes running every morning.

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.

毛máoyoung; raw
丫头girl
丫yāfork-shaped ornament; girl头tóusuffix

"毛" young or raw and "丫头" girl combine to mean a young girl.

Characters in this word

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

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

The shape of 丫 comes from a fork in a branch or path.

Open 丫 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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