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鸭子 (yā zi) — duck; (slang) male prostitute

Definition

Literally 'duck' (the bird or the meat). The second sense — slang for a male prostitute who services male clients — pairs with 鸡, the slang for a female prostitute.

noun
duck(slang) male prostitute
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 鸭子。
    Gōng yuán lǐ yǒu hěn duō yā zi.
    There are many ducks in the park.
  • 鸭子。
    yā zi De ròu hěn hǎo chī.
    Duck meat is very tasty.
  • 。
    Tā mǎi le yì zhī kǎo yā zi.
    He bought a roast duck.

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.

鸭yāduck
子zǐsuffix

The bird name 鸭 is combined with 子 to form the common word for a duck.

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 鴨; 鸭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鳥鳥niǎobird
Sound part声符shēngfú
甲
甲jiǎ鴨yā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鴨 uses 甲 for its sound and 鳥 for bird; the simplified 鸭 is a shorthand.

Open 鸭 →

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.

Open 子 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Birds5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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