男丁 (nán dīng) — adult male

Definition

Traditional/rural term for an adult male, especially one counted as a working laborer. It emphasizes the ability to perform heavy physical work, more culturally loaded than the plain 男人.

noun
adult male
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 男丁。
    Zhè ge jiā zú zhǐ yǒu sān gè nán dīng.
    This family only has three adult males.
  • ，男丁。
    Zài gǔ dài, nán dīng xū yào chéng dān fán zhòng de tǐ lì láo dòng.
    In ancient times, adult males had to bear heavy physical labor.
  • 男丁。
    Cūn lǐ de nán dīng dōu qù xiū lù le.
    All the adult males in the village went to repair the road.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

男nánmale
丁dīngadult male

男 and 丁 both point to a male adult, so together they name an adult man.

Characters in this word

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

男 is made from 田, a field, and 力, strength. It shows a man working with strength in a field.

Open 男 →

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.

Open 丁 →

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