男孩子 (nán hái zi) — boy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

boy

Measure word · 个

Examples

男孩子。
Nà ge nán hái zi hěn cōng ming.
That boy is very smart.
男孩子。
nán hái zi Men zhèng zài cāo chǎng shàng tī zú qiú.
The boys are playing soccer on the playground.
男孩子。
Zhè ge nán hái zi xǐ huan huà huà.
This boy likes to draw.

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.

孩子child

孩háichild子zǐ

后缀Suffix

'男' gives male and '孩子' gives child, so it names a boy.

Characters in this word

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

田力男

田田tiánfield
力力lìstrength

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

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

子亥孩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

亥

亥hài孩hái

Same sound today

In 孩, the left part 子 shows a child, while the right part 亥 supplies the sound.

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.

Appears in

Life Stages & Age People (General)

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