TongTong
Sign in

丈母娘 (zhàng mǔ niáng) — wife's mother; mother-in-law (on the wife's side)

Definition

Colloquial term for your wife's mother (mother-in-law on the wife's side). More everyday than the formal 岳母.

noun
wife's mothermother-in-law (on the wife's side)

Examples

  • 丈母娘。
    Wǒ zhàng mǔ niáng duì wǒ men hěn hǎo.
    My mother-in-law (wife's mother) is very kind to us.
  • 丈母娘，。
    Míng tiān shì zhàng mǔ niáng de shēng rì, wǒ men qù mǎi lǐ wù.
    Tomorrow is my mother-in-law's birthday; let's go buy a gift.
  • 丈母娘？
    Nǐ jiàn guò zhàng mǔ niáng ma?
    Have you met your mother-in-law (wife's mother)?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

丈母wife's mother
丈zhàngwife's father母mǔmother
偏正Modifier + head
娘niángwoman; mother

丈母 tells which 娘 is meant: the wife's mother.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

丈 is made from 十 (ten) and 又 (hand), and it is explained as a length of ten chi.

Open 丈 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng娘niáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娘 is built from 女 (woman) and 良, which supplies the sound.

Open 娘 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.