childhood name; infant name
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 5 examplesnoun
childhood name; milk name; pet name given in infancy
informalA name used by family and close relatives when a person is very young, often simpler or more affectionate than the formal given name. The diminutive suffix '儿' (ér) can be added in spoken language.
Wǒ我
de的
nǎi奶
míng名
jiào叫
‘‘
niú牛
niú牛
’
，
shì是
nǎi奶
nai奶
gěi给
wǒ我
qǔ取
de的
。
My childhood name is 'Niuniu', given to me by my grandma.
Jiā家
lǐ里
rén人
dōu都
jiào叫
tā他
de的
nǎi奶
míng名
er儿
，
hěn很
shǎo少
jiào叫
tā他
de的
dà大
míng名
。
Everyone in the family calls him by his childhood name and rarely uses his formal name.
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Zhè这
ge个
xiǎo小
míng名
shì是
cóng从
tā他
de的
nǎi奶
míng名
yǎn演
biàn变
lái来
de的
。
This nickname evolved from his infant name.
Tā她
dōu都
zhǎng长
dà大
le了
，
mā妈
ma妈
hái还
yòng用
tā她
de的
nǎi奶
míng名
jiào叫
tā她
。
She's all grown up now, but her mother still calls her by her childhood name.
Zhī知
dào道
yī一
gè个
rén人
nǎi奶
míng名
de的
rén人
，
tōng通
cháng常
guān关
xì系
hěn很
qīn亲
jìn近
。
People who know someone's childhood name are usually very close to them.