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堂弟 (táng dì) — younger male cousin on the father's side (son of father's brother)

Definition

A younger male cousin on the father's side (father's brother's son). Compare 表弟 — 表弟 is the same generation on the mother's side, while 堂弟 is the paternal side (same surname).

noun
younger male cousin on the father's side (son of father's brother)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 堂弟。
    Wǒ de táng dì jīn nián kǎo shàng le běi jīng dà xué.
    My younger male cousin (paternal) got into Peking University this year.
  • 堂弟，。
    Wǒ táng dì bǐ wǒ xiǎo liǎng suì, wǒ men cóng xiǎo yì qǐ zhǎng dà.
    My younger male cousin is two years younger than me; we grew up together.
  • 堂弟。
    Zhōu mò wǒ dǎ suàn qù táng dì jiā chī fàn.
    This weekend I plan to go to my cousin's house for dinner.

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tángclan branch
弟dìyounger brother

堂 marks the same clan branch, 弟 is a younger brother, so this is a younger cousin on the father's side.

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 →

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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