宝宝 in Context

CONGRATULATIONS! 

A NEW WORD HAS BEEN UNLOCKED 

宝宝

Usage 1 - "baby (spoken)": 

Sentence：

我可以抱一会儿宝宝吗？

English:

May I hold the baby for a moment?

Top-Down Words:

抱 bào - to hold, to hug

---

Sentence：

宝宝吃饭没？

English:

Did the baby eat?

Top-Down Words:

吃饭 chīfàn - to eat a meal

---

*Sentence：

妈妈决定宝宝的眼睛和鼻子，爸爸决定宝宝的嘴巴。 

English:

Mum decides the baby's eyes and nose, and Dad decides the baby's mouth.

Top-Down Words:

眼睛 yǎnjing - eye
鼻子 bízi - nose
嘴巴 zuǐba - mouth
爸爸 bàba - dad

---

*Sentence：

父母谁来决定宝宝的长相。

English:

Which of the parents decide the baby's appearance/features?

Top-Down Words:

谁- shéi- who?

---

*Sentence：

如果父母都高，宝宝长大后一定很高，但如果父母都不高，宝宝长大后也不一定不高。

English:

If the parents are tall, when the baby grows up it will definitely be tall. But, if the parents are not tall then the baby may or may not be tall.

Top-Down Words:

如果 rúguǒ - if
都 dōu - all, every
高 gāo - tall
后 hòu - after

---

---

Need a Reminder?

The Six Steps to Learning Words

Understanding Chinese Words - Morphemes

3 Questions About Words

---

Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

Do you also want to leave a comment? You can do so below！

Nacho En

Hello Luke and Phil!
I have a little question, in the sentence 父母谁来决定宝宝的长相。What's the function of 来 after 谁? Is it relevant?

Mandarin Blueprint

来 could be omitted here, but it is something native speakers add in a lot when referring to someone doing something. It's purely adding a tone of voice.

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SpMqeD0bw&t=2236s

---

Alex Sumray

So 宝 is treasure.
And 宝宝 is baby.
Am I reading into that etymology as beautifully as it seems?

Mandarin Blueprint

You sure are!

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil & Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTyzKONer7o&t=3195s

---

William Edmeades

Hey guys just clarifying, for 宝宝吃饭没？- Has the baby eaten?
Is it supposed to be 没 or 吗? Or can they be used interchangeably?

Mandarin Blueprint

Interchangeably! Here's the link to where Phil & Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://youtu.be/nY4FfKY1c3U?list=PL_T_LpTzhQ1ihGzQaTSeYEvr8_jmImnO-&t=3700

---

Jason Pon

Thanks a lot, I think this makes some sense to me. I'll keep an eye out for it. Also... I know we haven't been formally introduced to 'shei/who' yet, but I have noticed in many instances (even in pronunciation mastery) that shei comes after the subject, rather than english it is naturally before. For example 'who is that' versus in mandarin it would be 'that who is' or 他是谁. Is it baseline structure that 谁 follows the subject as seen in the original sentence here of 父母谁来决定宝宝的长相?

Thanks!

Mandarin Blueprint 

Good question, Jason, here are some ways to think about that:

https://www.loom.com/share/42b61bf7f4cc48ac91a0f4992607a793

Jason Pon

Thanks Phil! Makes sense. Appreciate it as always. Have a good day to you too :) (Although it's 10:40pm where I am).