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大叔 (dà shū) — uncle (father's younger brother); (respectful term of address for an older man) uncle, mister

Definition

Today 大叔 mainly means 'uncle' as a polite way to address a middle-aged man you don't know — not literally your father's younger brother. It's friendlier and more casual than 先生, and warmer than calling a stranger 叔叔.

noun
uncle (father's younger brother)(respectful term of address for an older man) unclemister
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 大叔，。
    Wǒ de dà shū zhù zài běi jīng, shì bà ba de dì di.
    My uncle lives in Beijing; he's my father's younger brother.
  • 大叔，？
    dà shū, Qǐng wèn qù dì tiě zhàn zěn me zǒu?
    Uncle, could you tell me how to get to the subway station?
  • 大叔。
    Nà wèi dà shū měi tiān zǎo shàng zài gōng yuán dǎ tài jí quán.
    That older gentleman does tai chi in the park every morning.

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.

大dàbig
叔shūuncle

It combines 大, meaning big or older, with 叔, meaning uncle, to refer to an uncle or older man.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & KinshipIdentity & Titles

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