姑爷 (gū yé) — (colloquial) son-in-law (used by the wife's family)

Definition

A colloquial term the wife's family uses to call their son-in-law. 丈夫 is the neutral word; 女婿 is the more standard/formal equivalent.

noun
(colloquial) son-in-law (used by the wife's family)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 姑爷。
    Wǒ men gū yé shì gè hǎo pí qi de rén.
    Our son-in-law is a good-natured person.
  • ，姑爷。
    Guò nián de shí hou, gū yé hé nǚ ér yì qǐ huí niáng jia.
    During the New Year, the son-in-law and daughter go back to her parents' home together.
  • 姑爷。
    Lǎo tài tai tè bié xǐ huan tā de gū yé.
    The old lady is especially fond of her son-in-law.

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.

姑gūdaughter/aunt
爷yémale; father

姑 links to the daughter's family, and 爷 marks a male, so together they name the daughter's husband.

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ姑gū
Same sound today

The left part 女 marks it as a woman, and the right part 古 provides the sound. It is used for female relatives like an aunt or mother-in-law.

Open 姑 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爺; 爷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
父父fùfather
Sound part声符shēngfú
耶
耶yē爺yé
Same sound today

The traditional form 爺 combines 父, meaning father, with 耶 as a sound part; the simplified 爷 is a later shorthand, so its visible pieces do not carry that original role.

Open 爷 →

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