祖父母 (zǔ fù mǔ) — paternal grandparents (father's parents) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Specifically your father's parents (paternal side). For the maternal side, use 外祖父母; for both sides together, say 祖父母和外祖父母.

noun

paternal grandparents (father's parents)

Examples

祖父母。
Wǒ de zǔ fù mǔ zhù zài xiāng xia.
My paternal grandparents live in the countryside.
祖父母。
zǔ fù mǔ Jīng cháng gěi wǒ jiǎng tā men nián qīng shí de gù shi.
My paternal grandparents often tell me stories from their youth.
祖父母。
Měi nián chūn jié wǒ dōu qù zǔ fù mǔ jiā bài nián.
Every Spring Festival I go to my paternal grandparents' home to pay New Year's respects.

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.

祖zǔpaternal grand-

父母parents

父fùfather母mǔmother

联合Coordinate

祖 adds the paternal-grand idea to 父 and 母 (father and mother): the father's parents.

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

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.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Family & Kinship

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