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继母 (jì mǔ) — stepmother

Definition

Stepmother (one's father's second wife). Pairs with 继父 ('stepfather') — the same 继– prefix marks a step-parent on either side of the family.

noun
stepmother
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 继母。
    Wǒ gēn wǒ jì mǔ de guān xì hěn hǎo.
    I have a good relationship with my stepmother.
  • 继母。
    Tā cóng xiǎo yóu jì mǔ fǔ yǎng zhǎng dà.
    He was raised by his stepmother from childhood.
  • 继母。
    Tā de jì mǔ duì tā xiàng qīn shēng nǚ ér yí yàng.
    Her stepmother treats her like her own daughter.

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.

继jìstep-/successive
母mǔmother

继 (step-/successive) and 母 (mother) together mean a mother by a later marriage.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 繼; 继 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
㡭
㡭㡭繼jì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繼 pairs 糸 (rope) with 㡭 as a sound part; an older form may have shown four silk strands. The simplified 继 is only a later shorthand.

Open 继 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Family & Kinship

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