TongTong
Sign in

外甥女 (wài sheng nǚ) — sister's daughter; niece (one's sister's child)

Definition

Strictly your sister's daughter (female). For your brother's daughter, say 侄女.

noun
sister's daughterniece (one's sister's child)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 外甥女，。
    Wǒ de wài sheng nǚ jīn nián wǔ suì le, hěn kě ài.
    My sister's daughter is five years old this year; she is very cute.
  • 外甥女。
    Jiě jie de nǚ ér shì wǒ de wài sheng nǚ.
    My older sister's daughter is my niece.
  • 外甥女。
    Zuó tiān wǒ qù kàn le wǒ de wài sheng nǚ.
    Yesterday I went to see my niece.

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.

外甥nephew
外wàioutside/maternal甥shēngnephew
偏正Modifier + head
女nǚfemale

外甥 (nephew) plus 女 (female) gives a female nephew, i.e. sister's daughter.

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 甥 →

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

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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