甥 (shēng) — (bound form) nephew or niece (one's sister's child; used in compounds like 外甥, 外甥女)
Definition
甥 is a bound form meaning 'sister's child' — it never stands alone and only appears in the compounds 外甥 (nephew) and 外甥女 (niece). A brother's child is 侄子 / 侄女, not 甥.
bound form
nephew or niece (one's sister's child; used in compounds like 外甥, 外甥女)
Easily confused
- 生shēngsound-aliketo give birth to
- 生shēngsound-aliketo give birth; to be born
- 声shēngsound-alike(noun) sound, voice, noise
- 升shēngsound-aliketo rise, to go up; to increase (temperature, prices, etc.)
- 升shēngsound-alike(classifier) liter (unit of volume)
- 牲shēngsound-alike(bound form) livestock, domestic animals
Examples
- 。Wǒ de wài shēng jīn nián shàng zhōng xué le.My nephew is in middle school this year.
- 。Wǒ jiě jie de nǚ ér shì wǒ de wài shēng nǚ.My older sister's daughter is my niece.
- 。Tā mèi mei de ér zi shì tā de wài shēng.His younger sister's son is his nephew.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.