дзяўчына
Belarusian
Alternative forms
- дзе́ўчына (dzjéwčyna)
- dziaŭczyna, dziaŭčyna — Łacinka (Belarusian Latin alphabet)
Etymology
дзе́ўка (dzjéwka) + -іна (-ina) (with к (k) → ч (č) occurring under the Slavic first palatalization), with the former derived from дзе́ва (dzjéva) + -ка (-ka), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *děva (“maiden, girl”). Cognates include Ukrainian ді́вчина (dívčyna) / дівчи́на (divčýna), Polish dziewczyna.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [d͡zʲau̯ˈt͡ʂɨna]
Audio: (file)
Noun
дзяўчы́на • (dzjawčýna) f pers (genitive дзяўчы́ны, nominative plural дзяўча́ты, genitive plural дзяўча́т, diminutive дзяўчы́начка)
- girl, maiden, young unmarried woman (an adult female human)
- girlfriend (a female partner in an unmarried romantic relationship)
- Coordinate term: хло́пец (xlópjec)
Usage notes
- Not to be confused with дзяўчы́нка (dzjawčýnka, “female child”). Compare also дзяўчо́ (dzjawčó, “female teenager”). These different variants hint the person's age range, albeit with a little bit of leeway and overlap. See also кабе́та (kabjéta, “married woman”).
Declension
Declension of дзяўчы́на (pr hard fem-form accent-a irreg-plstem)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | дзяўчы́на dzjawčýna |
дзяўча́ты dzjawčáty |
| genitive | дзяўчы́ны dzjawčýny |
дзяўча́т dzjawčát |
| dative | дзяўчы́не dzjawčýnje |
дзяўча́там dzjawčátam |
| accusative | дзяўчы́ну dzjawčýnu |
дзяўча́т dzjawčát |
| instrumental | дзяўчы́най, дзяўчы́наю dzjawčýnaj, dzjawčýnaju |
дзяўча́тамі dzjawčátami |
| locative | дзяўчы́не dzjawčýnje |
дзяўча́тах dzjawčátax |
| count form | — | дзяўчы́ны1 dzjawčýny1 |
1Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.
Further reading
- “дзяўчына” in Belarusian–Russian dictionaries and Belarusian dictionaries at slounik.org
- “дзяўчына”, in Skarnik's Belarusian dictionary (in Belarusian), based on Kandrat Krapiva's Explanatory Dictionary of the Belarusian Language (1977-1984)