外祖母 (wài zǔ mǔ) — maternal grandmother | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal term for 'maternal grandmother' (your mother's mother). In everyday speech learners will more often hear 外婆 or 姥姥; 外祖母 is the written/literary variant.

noun

maternal grandmother

Measure word · 位

Examples

外祖母。
Wǒ wài zǔ mǔ jīn nián bā shí suì le.
My maternal grandmother is eighty years old this year.
外祖母。
Xiǎo shí hou wǒ cháng cháng qù wài zǔ mǔ jiā zhù.
When I was young I often went to stay at my maternal grandmother's home.
外祖母。
wài zǔ mǔ Zuò de cài zuì hǎo chī le.
The food my maternal grandmother makes is the most delicious.

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.

外wàimaternal

祖母grandmother

祖zǔancestor母mǔmother

偏正Modifier + head

外 points to the maternal side, and 祖母 means grandmother.

Characters in this word

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

月

月yuè外wài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

祖 was made by adding 示 to 且, and 且 gives the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Family & Kinship

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