娘 niáng mother
mother; young girl; effeminate
How to remember 娘: 女 woman + 良 good = mother. The woman in the village kitchen cooks the same good soup every Sunday, and her grown sons still call her the best mother.
Component breakdown
娘 = 女 woman + 良 good
- 女 woman
- 良 good
The woman in the village kitchen cooks the same good soup every Sunday, and her grown sons still call her the best mother.
How it is used
- 'Mother; young woman'. 姑娘 (gūniang) = girl; 新娘 (xīnniáng) = bride.
- 娘 alone as 'mom' is dialectal/old-fashioned or rural; standard modern speech uses 妈妈 (māma).
- Colloquially 娘 as an adjective (娘娘腔 niángniángqiāng) describes an effeminate manner in a man - can be pejorative.