骂娘 (mà niáng) — to swear at someone by cursing their mother (vulgar)

Definition

骂娘 is a vulgar set phrase meaning to hurl mother-curse insults when furious — far stronger than ordinary 骂, with a fixed 娘 you cannot swap. Used in very colloquial, often crude speech.

verb
to swear at someone by cursing their mother (vulgar)

Examples

  • 骂娘。
    Tā qì dé zhí mà niáng.
    He was so angry that he kept cursing.
  • 。
    Nà ge rén mà le tā yí dùn niáng.
    That person swore at him with a curse of his mother.
  • 骂娘，？
    Bié dòng bu dòng jiù mà niáng, hǎo hǎo shuō bù xíng ma?
    Don't start cursing at the drop of a hat — can't you just talk nicely?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

骂màcurse
娘niángmother

骂 gives cursing, and 娘 gives mother, so the term means cursing someone's mother.

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 罵; 骂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
网网wǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
馬
馬mǎ罵mà
Same sound today

The traditional form 罵 uses 网 (a net) for the meaning and 馬 for the sound; the simplified 骂 is a later shorthand.

Open 骂 →

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng娘niáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娘 is built from 女 (woman) and 良, which supplies the sound.

Open 娘 →

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