Chinese

女朋友

/ny²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰɤŋ³⁵ joʊ̯³/
girlfriend (Classifier: 個／个 m c)
  • HSK 1

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
React Flow

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Origin

Most likely a calque of English girlfriend.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • calqueEnglishgirlfriend “A female partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.”
    • partEnglishgirl “A female child.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishgirle
    • suffixEnglish-ie “Forming diminutive or affectionate forms of nouns or names.”
      • derivedEnglish-y “Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving…”
      • derivedEnglishselfie “A photographic self-portrait, especially one taken manually (not using a timer, tripod etc.) with a…”
    • partEnglishfriend “A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys a…”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishfrend
  • characterChinese女 “woman; (only of humans in Standard Chinese) female”
  • characterChinese朋 “unit of shell money; various theories exist about the exact amount”
  • characterChinese友 “friend; companion”
    • soundChinese又 “again; once more”

Sources