姥姥 (lǎo lao) — maternal grandmother (mother's mother)

Definition

Maternal grandmother (mother's mother). 奶奶 is the paternal side; 外婆 is a synonym, more common in southern Chinese. Spoken term, sometimes written as 姥姥.

noun
maternal grandmother (mother's mother)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 姥姥
    lǎo lao De shēng rì shì xià zhōu liù.
    Grandma's birthday is next Saturday.
  • 姥姥
    Wǒ jīng cháng hé lǎo lao yì qǐ kàn diàn shì.
    I often watch TV with grandma.
  • 姥姥
    lǎo lao Zuò de cài fēi cháng hǎo chī.
    The food grandma cooks is very delicious.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

lǎograndmother
lǎograndmother

The repeated 姥 names a grandmother, and the doubled form gives the familiar word for maternal 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
Same sound today

The left part 女 and the right part 老 form 姥; the 老 part gives the sound.

Open 姥 →

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
Same sound today

The left part 女 and the right part 老 form 姥; the 老 part gives the sound.

Open 姥 →

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