n.
daughter
女儿
Common Usage & Traps
- 我女儿 — my daughter
- 一个女儿 — one daughter
- 儿子和女儿 — son and daughter
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我女儿工作在北京我女儿在北京工作Chinese puts the place before the verb. Say where she works before 工作.
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我女儿是八岁我女儿八岁Chinese does not use 是 before an age. Just put the age after the person.
Does 女儿 sound like the 儿 in 哪儿?
No. 女儿 is two separate sounds: nǚ-ér.
The 儿 in 女儿 is a full syllable with the second tone. It does not blend into 女 the way 儿 blends into 哪. Say nǚ-ér with a clear break, not nǚr.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | nǚ-ér | nǚr |
| Rhythm | two clear beats | one swallowed beat |
| Phrase | 我女儿 (wǒ nǚ'ér) | wǒ nǚr (blended) |
Why is 女儿 daughter but 儿子 son when both end in 儿?
女 marks female, so 女儿 is daughter; 儿子 is the fixed word for son.
儿 originally meant child, but modern Chinese uses 女儿 for a female child and 儿子 for a male child. The 女 in 女儿 tells you it is female. Do not add 子 to 女儿 or 女 to 儿子.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Daughter | 女儿 | 儿子 |
| Son | 儿子 | 女儿 |
| Meaning clue | 女 = female | ignoring 女 |
Should you say 我女儿 or 我的女儿?
Both are correct, but 我女儿 sounds more natural in everyday talk.
Chinese often drops 的 with close family members. 我的女儿 is not wrong, but it can sound more formal or emphatic. In casual speech, 我女儿 is the default.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday speech | 我女儿 | 我的女儿 (overly formal) |
| Writing/emphasis | 我的女儿 | none |
| Correctness | both are correct | only 我的女儿 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
A young man helps an old man look for his cat. But the real surprise is why the old man wanted to find the cat. Read on to learn about kindness and friendship.
- Scene #1
老先生对白天明说：“我八十岁了，儿子和 女儿 都在北京工作，我一个人住在这里。
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