TongTong
Sign in

生父 (shēng fù) — biological father

Definition

Means 'biological father' — the father who gave birth to you, as opposed to the one who raised you. Contrast with 养父 (adoptive father) and 继父 (stepfather).

noun
biological father
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 生父。
    Tā de shēng fù zài tā hěn xiǎo de shí hou jiù qù shì le.
    His biological father passed away when he was very young.
  • ，生父。
    Suī rán tā de yǎng fù duì tā hěn hǎo, dàn tā yì zhí xiǎng zhī dào shuí shì tā de shēng fù.
    Even though his adoptive father treats him well, he always wants to know who his biological father is.
  • 生父。
    Tā cóng lái méi yǒu jiàn guò zì jǐ de shēng fù.
    She has never met her own biological father.

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.

生shēngbirth
父fùfather

生 “birth” and 父 “father” combine to mean a father by birth, a biological father.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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

The shape 父 shows a hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.

Open 父 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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