nhim
Macanese
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editPossibly a diminutive of Portuguese menina, ultimately from Old Galician-Portuguese meninha, with possible metathesis.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnhim (diminutive nhinina)
- girl (female child)
- formal address for young girls, single women and lowly women of a certain age: young lady, miss
- Coordinate term: siára
Usage notes
edit- Both forms nhim and nhi are/were commonly used.
References
edit- Batalha, Graciete Nogueira (1988) “nhi, nhim”, in Glossário do dialecto macaense: notas linguísticas, etnográficas e folclóricas [Glossary of the Macanese dialect: linguistic, ethnographic and folkloric notes], Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, page 493
- https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm#nhim