TongTong
Sign in

父母亲 (fù mǔ qīn) — parents

Definition

Formal/literary word for 'parents' — more respectful and written than 父母 or 爸妈. Use when referring to someone else's parents or in formal writing.

noun
parents
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 父母亲。
    Wǒ hěn zūn jìng wǒ de fù mǔ qīn.
    I respect my parents very much.
  • 父母亲。
    Tā de fù mǔ qīn dōu shì dà xué jiào shòu.
    His parents are both university professors.
  • 父母亲。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi duō guān xīn fù mǔ qīn de jiàn kāng.
    We should care more about our parents' health.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

父母parents
父fùfather母mǔmother
联合Coordinate
亲qīnparent/kin

父母 names father and mother; 亲 names parent or kin, so the word combines kinship terms for one’s parents.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 父 shows a hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.

Open 父 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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