爹娘

爹 and 娘 are two words that intrigue me. It seems, from the movies I’ve wathed (活着/To Live being a prime example) that up until very recently they were the usual words for dad and mum. Now 爸 and 妈 seem to be most common. But I still occasionally hear even young people out in Yanqing use 爹 and 娘. I’m kinda curious about the origins of these words. Exactly how long have 爸 and 妈 been in use, and where did they come from? Cursory searches through google and Baidu Baike don’t turn up much information.

About the Author

wangbo

A Kiwi teaching English to oil workers in Beijing, studying Chinese in my spare time, married to a beautiful Beijing lass, consuming vast quantities of green tea (usually Xihu Longjing/西湖龙井, if that means anything to you), eating good food (except for when I cook), missing good Kiwi ale, breathing smog, generally living as best I can outside Godzone and having a good time of it.

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