Bao Mu (保姆, ''Ama'') is a term for "

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ge ...

" in Mother#Synonyms_and_translations, several different languages and contexts, see

mama and papa In linguistics, mama and papa are considered a special case of false cognates. In many languages of the world, sequences of sounds similar to and mean " mother" and " father", usually but not always in that order. This is thought to be a coin ...

. It has also become a term for the job of a combined nanny and housemaid, see Amah (occupation).

In China

In Chinese, ''amah'' ("grandmother") is often used as an equivalent of the English word "

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

"—the term does not refer to a

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

or a servant, but rather a "friend" who helps a family to raise a child. This is a common occupation in China. However some parts, still used ''amah'' as ("grandmother") and it is not considered rude. During the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, the word ''amah'' was used as an informal and poetic title for the Taoist goddess

Queen Mother of the West The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most importan ...

. ''Amah'' is the

Mosuo The Mosuo (; also spelled Moso, Mosso or Musuo), often called the Naxi among themselves, are a small ethnic group living in China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, close to the border with Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet. Consisting of a population ...

term for mother.It is used in this way in Yang Erche Namu's memoi
''Leaving Mother Lake''
It is a specific Hokkien honorific.

References

Motherhood {{parenting-stub YES