姑妈 (gū mā) — father's married sister (paternal aunt, by marr… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

One Chinese term for 'aunt': specifically your father's married sister (your paternal aunt by marriage). Contrast with 姨妈 (mother's sister) and 姑姑 (father's sister, unmarried or generic).

noun

father's married sister (paternal aunt, by marriage)

Measure word · 位

Examples

姑妈。
Wǒ de gū mā zuò de cài hěn hǎo chī.
My aunt's cooking is very delicious.
姑妈。
Shàng zhōu mò wǒ men qù gū mā jiā zuò kè le.
Last weekend we went to my aunt's house as guests.
姑妈。
gū mā Gěi wǒ mǎi le yí jiàn xīn yī fu.
My aunt bought me a new piece of clothing.

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.

姑gūpaternal aunt

妈māmother

姑 names the paternal aunt line, and 妈 gives the female kinship sense, together naming father's 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.

女古姑

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ姑gū

Same sound today

The left part 女 marks it as a woman, and the right part 古 provides the sound. It is used for female relatives like an aunt or mother-in-law.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 媽; 妈 is its simplified writing.

女馬媽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

馬

馬mǎ媽mā

Same sound today

The traditional form 媽 pairs 女 (woman) with 馬, which gives the sound. The simplified 妈 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Family & Kinship

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