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叔父 (shū fù) — father's younger brother; paternal uncle; (historical) term used by a king to address feudal lords bearing his surname

Definition

A formal, written term for your father's younger brother — same person as 叔叔 but more literary. The historical sense (a king addressing same-surname lords) appears only in classical texts.

noun
father's younger brotherpaternal uncle(historical) term used by a king to address feudal lords bearing his surname
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 叔父。
    Wǒ de shū fù shì gè hěn yǒu xué shí de rén.
    My uncle is a very learned person.
  • ，叔父。
    Xiǎo shí hou, shū fù jīng cháng dài wǒ qù gōng yuán wán.
    When I was young, my uncle often took me to the park to play.
  • ，叔父。
    Tā shì wǒ fù qīn de dì di, yě jiù shì wǒ de shū fù.
    He is my father's younger brother, that is, my uncle.

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.

叔shūyounger
父fùfather

The 叔 sense 'younger' and 父 'father' combine to specify a father's younger brother.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 尗尗shūwooden stake
  • 又又yòuhand

The shape has 又 (a hand) and 尗 (a wooden stake), showing a hand putting the stake into the ground.

Open 叔 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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