洋娃娃

yángwáwa

noun #9,900

Measure Word

一个洋娃娃 gè

Meanings

1 doll (especially a Western-style doll)
2 (figurative) doll-like person; someone with delicate features

Characters

ocean; foreign; Western

baby; child (repeated for emphasis/cuteness)

Foreign baby doll — a Western-style doll.

Examples

小女孩抱着一个洋娃娃。

Xiǎo nǚhái bào zhe yī ge yángwáwa.

The little girl is holding a doll.

她长得像个洋娃娃一样漂亮。

Tā zhǎng de xiàng ge yángwáwa yīyàng piàoliang.

She's as pretty as a doll.

我小时候最喜欢玩洋娃娃。

Wǒ xiǎoshíhou zuì xǐhuan wán yángwáwa.

I loved playing with dolls when I was little.

Tips

history

洋 originally meant 'ocean' but came to mean 'foreign/Western' because Western goods arrived by sea. 洋娃娃 literally means 'foreign baby' — referring to Western-style dolls with big eyes and light skin that were exotic in China.

Stroke Order

洋 yáng

娃 wá