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堂兄弟 (táng xiōng dì) — male paternal cousin (father's brother's son)

Definition

Cousins on your father's side: 堂 (same surname, paternal line) vs 表 (different surname, often maternal). 堂兄弟 specifically names the male paternal cousins.

noun
male paternal cousin (father's brother's son)

Examples

  • 堂兄弟。
    Wǒ de táng xiōng dì jīn nián dà xué bì yè le.
    My paternal cousin graduated from university this year.
  • 堂兄弟。
    Tā yǒu sān gè táng xiōng dì zài xiāng gǎng gōng zuò.
    He has three paternal cousins working in Hong Kong.
  • 堂兄弟，。
    Wǒ hé táng xiōng dì yì qǐ zhǎng dà, gǎn qíng hěn hǎo.
    My paternal cousin and I grew up together and have a great relationship.

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.

堂tángpaternal branch
兄弟brothers
兄xiōngelder brother弟dìyounger brother
联合Coordinate

堂 marks the paternal branch, and 兄弟 means brothers, so together they name male cousins.

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng堂táng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Open 堂 →

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

The shape 兄 puts 口, a mouth, above 儿 to express the idea of giving orders; this fits the old meaning of an elder brother.

Open 兄 →

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

弟 pictures a spear handle wrapped in a leather strap. The wrapping showed order, and that meaning was extended to a younger brother.

Open 弟 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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