Meaning of 男孩儿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- erhua form of 男孩[nan2 hai2]
How to use 男孩儿
男孩儿 is the erhua version of 男孩 (nánhái), common in northern and Beijing-style speech. It usually means a boy, but people also use it casually for young men. Example: 那个男孩儿是我弟弟。(Nàge nánháir shì wǒ dìdi.) That boy is my younger brother.
男 (nán) is a field 田 above strength 力, the person doing hard work in the field, so it means male. Add 孩 (hái), child, and you get a male child, with the 儿 (r) sound added at the end.
Common mistake: Learners often read 儿 here as a separate syllable ér, saying nán hái ér. In erhua it merges into the previous syllable, so it is two syllables: nán-háir, with hái losing its i sound and becoming roughly "hár".
男孩儿 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
男 nán · male · 7 strokes
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孩 hái · baby · 9 strokes
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儿 ér · son · 2 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 男孩儿.
Questions about 男孩儿
What does 男孩儿 mean?
男孩儿 (nánháir) means "erhua form of 男孩[nan2 hai2]" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 男孩儿?
男孩儿 is made of 3 characters: 男 (7 strokes), 孩 (9 strokes), 儿 (2 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 男孩儿 an HSK word?
Yes. 男孩儿 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 男孩儿 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 男孩儿 is written 男孩兒.
What is the difference between 男孩儿 and 男孩子?
Both mean boy. 男孩子 (nánháizi) is neutral and used everywhere, while 男孩儿 sounds more northern and colloquial. 男孩 alone is the most neutral written form.
How do you say girl in the same pattern?
Use 女 (nǚ), female, in place of 男: 女孩儿 (nǚháir) or 女孩 (nǚhái). This pairing works the same way as 儿子 (érzi) son and 女儿 (nǚ'ér) daughter.