婶子 (shěn zi) — aunt (colloquial, wife of father's younger brother)

Definition

Colloquial, spoken term for one's aunt by marriage (wife of father's younger brother). 婶 is the standard form; 婶子 is the casual, everyday version common in northern speech.

noun
aunt (colloquial, wife of father's younger brother)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 婶子。
    Wǒ shěn zi duì wǒ hěn hǎo.
    My aunt is very kind to me.
  • 婶子。
    Zuó tiān wǒ hé shěn zi yì qǐ chī fàn.
    Yesterday I had dinner with my aunt.
  • 婶子。
    shěn zi Gěi wǒ zuò le hǎo chī de cài.
    Aunt made me a delicious dish.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

婶shěnaunt
子zǐnoun ending

婶 names the aunt relation, and 子 completes the familiar form.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嬸; 婶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
審
審shěn嬸shěn
Same sound today

For the traditional form 嬸, the left part 女 means woman, and the right part 審 gives the sound.

Open 婶 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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