TongTong
Sign in

堂妹 (táng mèi) — younger female cousin on the father's side (with the same surname)

Definition

A paternal-side younger female cousin — same surname, father’s brother’s daughter. Contrast with 表妹 (maternal/cross-sibling line) and 姐姐/妹妹 (siblings, not cousins).

noun
younger female cousin on the father's side (with the same surname)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 堂妹，。
    Wǒ yǒu yí gè táng mèi, tā bǐ wǒ xiǎo liǎng suì.
    I have a younger female cousin who is two years younger than me.
  • 堂妹。
    Wǒ de táng mèi jīn nián kǎo shàng le běi jīng dà xué.
    My younger female cousin got into Peking University this year.
  • 堂妹。
    Zhōu mò wǒ hé táng mèi yì qǐ qù guàng jiē.
    On the weekend I went shopping with my younger female cousin.

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 clan
妹mèiyounger sister

“堂” marks the paternal-cousin relation and “妹” means younger sister.

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 →

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
女女nǚfemale, woman
Sound part声符shēngfú
未
未wèi妹mèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妹 combines 女, a woman, with 未, which gives the sound.

Open 妹 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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