娃

wá

圭 + 女

Definitions

wá (noun) baby; child

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 圭 represents the sound.

About

娃 is a phono-semantic compound formed by the semantic element 女 (nǚ, 'woman') on the left and the phonetic element 圭 (guī, a ritual jade tablet) on the right. In classical Chinese, the character's meaning, derived from the female radical, was 'beautiful woman' or 'girl.' Over centuries, this sense gradually shifted to denote a baby, young child, or doll, a semantic change that moved the focus from feminine allure to early life. This modern meaning is now the character's primary sense, while the classical 'beautiful woman' usage has become rare. The phonetic 圭 supplies the sound and has no bearing on the notion of a child.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个娃娃是我的。

Zhè gè wá wa shì wǒ de.

This doll is mine.

小娃娃真漂亮。

Xiǎo wá wa zhēn piào liang.

The little baby is really pretty.

妈妈抱着娃娃。

Mā ma bào zhe wá wa.

Mom is holding the baby.

娃娃在沙发上睡觉。

Wá wa zài shā fā shàng shuì jiào.

The baby is sleeping on the sofa.

她是个女娃娃。

Tā shì gè nǚ wá wa.

She is a girl.

娃娃笑了，因为看到玩具。

Wá wa xiào le, yīn wèi kàn dào wán jù.

The baby laughed because he saw the toy.

如果娃娃饿了，就会哭。

Rú guǒ wá wa è le, jiù huì kū.

If the baby is hungry, he will cry.

那个胖娃娃正在学走路。

Nà gè pàng wá wa zhèng zài xué zǒu lù.

That chubby baby is learning to walk.

Related Characters

Component: 圭

Component: 女

娃