男婴 (nán yīng) — baby boy; male infant

Definition

noun
baby boymale infant
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 男婴。
    Tā zuó tiān shēng le yí gè jiàn kāng de nán yīng.
    She gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday.
  • 男婴，。
    Hù shi zhèng bào zhe nà ge nán yīng, qīng qīng de pāi zhe tā.
    The nurse was holding that baby boy, gently patting him.
  • 男婴。
    Zhè duì fū fù gěi tā men de nán yīng qǔ míng wéi xiǎo míng.
    This couple named their male infant Xiao Ming.

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.

男nánmale
婴yīnginfant

男 specifies the sex, while 婴 gives an infant, forming a baby boy.

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 →

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 嬰; 婴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
癭
癭yǐng嬰yīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 嬰 pairs 貝, carrying the meaning, with 癭 for the sound; the simplified 婴 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 婴 →

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