小姑子 (xiǎo gū zǐ) — husband's younger sister (colloquial); sister-in-law (specifically, the husband's younger sister)

Definition

Refers specifically to your husband's younger sister — colloquial, said by the wife about her in-law. Compare with 小姑 (xiǎogū) for the husband's older/younger sister, and 大姑子 for the elder one.

noun
husband's younger sister (colloquial)sister-in-law (specifically, the husband's younger sister)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小姑子。
    Wǒ de xiǎo gū zǐ jīn nián jié hūn le.
    My husband's younger sister got married this year.
  • 小姑子，。
    xiǎo gū zǐ Duì wǒ hěn hǎo, jiù xiàng qīn mèi mei yí yàng.
    My husband's younger sister is very kind to me, just like my own little sister.
  • 小姑子。
    Wǒ pó po hé xiǎo gū zǐ yì qǐ lái kàn wǒ men.
    My mother-in-law and my husband's younger sister came to see us together.

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.

小姑younger sister-in-law
小xiǎoyounger姑gūsister-in-law
偏正Modifier + head
子zǐnoun ending

小 means younger and 姑 points to the husband's sister, while 子 makes the colloquial name for her.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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
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.

Open 姑 →

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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