Usage of bǎobèi

[gweilo]

Hello,

I'm curious about the situations in which Chinese people use the word bǎobèi.

Is it only to designate the one you love, or can it also apply to a very close friend or someone from your family ?

Thanks a lot.

[mmmmmabel]

it usually indicates a loved one, but sometimes friends will use it, although not very often but it depends obviously the region in China. Sometimes parents would use it as well

Hope that helps..

Mabel

[msittig]

It's also used to talk about items on Taobao, which has always confounded me.

[renzhe]

A loved one, sometimes a child (usually a baby, but also as an excessively endearing term). As slang, I've sometimes heard it used for a valuable object, some sort of possession, but it sounds quite funny.

Definitely not parents or aunts or cousins or similar.

[gweilo]

Thanks a lot for your help.

Now I know that this message that my Chinese girlfriend accidentally sent to me wasn't necessarily intended for, well, another boyfriend !

[Matty]

As slang, I've sometimes heard it used for a valuable object, some sort of possession, but it sounds quite funny.

I'm not sure why it sounds funny, I see the same thing in English all the time. People will call their brand new beloved car their baby, or their new computer...

Similar to how cars are often mentioned as female.

[889]

Reading another thread, it recently dawned on me for the first time that 媒体 meiti apparently comes from the English media.

So is 宝贝 baobei also a borrowing from English, from baby?

In any event, when looking at antiques or collectibles, I've no problem referring to a really special one as a 宝贝, a real treasure.

[Ksunliang]

宝贝 has a lot of meanings.1. Something precious. "baobei" can be used to indicate jewels or treasures, or something that is not easy to get and you treasure or love.2. Loved person. A man may call his girlfriend baobei.3. Babies. baobei has a meaning of "cute".

And Taobao uses the first meaning(Something precious).

[esenihc]

nowadays 亲qin1 is more popular among friends

[rezaf]

I have heard 宝宝 more than 宝贝儿。 Anyway you can also use 阿宝 to call your gf or bf.

[Houzi88]

So what does bao bei mean?

Is it for a loved one?

[renzhe]

It is pretty close to how you would use the word "baby" in English. Either a real baby, or a loved one, or some cherished possession.

[Daniw de Leon]

I have heard 宝宝 more than 宝贝儿。 Anyway you can also use 阿宝 to call your gf or bf.

Is 甜心 used for bf/gf too?

[Glenn]

Certainly seems to be in Taiwan: 對戀人或兒女的暱稱。由英語 sweet heart翻譯得名。

http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/newDict/dict.sh?cond=%B2%A2%A4%DF&pieceLen=50&fld=1&cat=&ukey=174261821&serial=1&recNo=0&op=f&imgFont=1

[DecafLat]

宝贝 is by no means a calque of the word "baby". It originally means "treasure" (in the monetary sense).

And yes, it is rarely used casually between ordinary friends, though I wouldn't be surprised to hear it used as a facetious appellation.