TongTong
Sign in

狗崽子 (gǒu zǎi zǐ) — (literal) puppy, whelp; (derogatory) son of a bitch; (historical) political slur for children of undesirable class backgrounds

Definition

Literally 'puppy/whelp' — the literal sense is a young dog, but as a noun it is almost always used as a strong insult ('son of a bitch') or a historical political slur against the children of class enemies. Use with care.

noun
(literal) puppywhelp(derogatory) son of a bitch(historical) political slur for children of undesirable class backgrounds
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 狗崽子。
    Zhè zhī gǒu zǎi zǐ gāng chū shēng sān tiān.
    This puppy was born three days ago.
  • 狗崽子，！
    Nǐ zhè ge gǒu zǎi zǐ, jìng gǎn piàn wǒ!
    You son of a bitch, how dare you cheat me!
  • ，狗崽子，。
    Zài nà ge nián dài, tā bèi jiào zuò gǒu zǎi zǐ, shòu le hěn duō kǔ.
    In that era, he was called a 'dog's whelp' and suffered a lot.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

狗崽dog cub
狗gǒudog崽zǎiyoung animal
偏正Modifier + head
子zǐ

狗 'dog' and 崽 'young animal' give the literal sense, and 子 gives the familiar form.

Characters in this word

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù狗gǒu
Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Open 狗 →

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
思
思sī崽zǎi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

崽 pairs 山 (mountain) with 思; 思 gives the sound, and 山 gives the meaning clue.

Open 崽 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Animals & Mammals

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.