红娘

紅娘
hóngniáng
noun #35,923

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 matchmaker
  2. 2 go-between

Examples

HSK 4
Tāmen jiéhūn hái yào gǎnxiè zhè wèi rèxīn de hóngniáng.
Their marriage owes thanks to this enthusiastic matchmaker.
HSK 4
Gōngsī xiǎng zuò cùjìn hézuò de hóngniáng.
The company wants to play matchmaker in fostering cooperation.

Tips

history
From 元代 Wang Shifu's drama 《西厢记》 (Romance of the Western Chamber), where 红娘 is the clever maidservant who sneaks her mistress 崔莺莺 Cui Yingying together with the scholar 张生 Zhang Sheng. Her name became the generic term for matchmaker, much like 'Cupid' in English. Now extended to any go-between, including business 红娘.

In Pop Culture

红娘 Hóngniáng
Hongniang
Servant character in《西厢记》whose schemes give us the modern word for matchmaker.

Stroke Order

hóng
niáng