雏儿 (chú ér) — (noun) young and inexperienced person, rookie, greenhorn; (noun, sensitive) very young prostitute; (noun, less common) young girl

Definition

雏儿 literally means a baby bird, but figuratively it means a naive, inexperienced person — like 'greenhorn' or 'rookie'. The metaphor is childlike innocence, not just inexperience.

noun
young and inexperienced personrookiegreenhorn(noun, sensitive) very young prostitute(noun, less common) young girl
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 雏儿，。
    Tā zài gōng sī hái shì gè chú ér, shén me dōu bù dǒng.
    He is still a rookie in the company and doesn't know anything.
  • 雏儿，。
    Zhè ge chú ér dì yī cì cān jiā bǐ sài, biǎo xiàn bú cuò.
    This newcomer performed well in his first competition.
  • 雏儿，。
    Nà ge chú ér cái shí suì, tiān zhēn kě ài.
    That little girl is only ten, innocent and lovely.

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.

雏chúyoung bird
儿érdiminutive

雏 gives the idea of a young bird, and 儿 adds a small, familiar tone.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雛; 雏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
芻
芻chú雛chú(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 雛 pairs 隹, a bird, with 芻 for the sound.

Open 雏 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

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