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继父 (jì fù) — stepfather

Definition

Stepfather — your mother's remarried husband, after she has married again. The female counterpart is 继母.

noun
stepfather
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 继父，。
    Wǒ de jì fù duì wǒ hěn hǎo, jiù xiàng qīn shēng fù qīn yí yàng.
    My stepfather is very kind to me, just like a biological father.
  • 继父，。
    Zhè wèi shì wǒ de jì fù, tā jiào wáng shū shu.
    This is my stepfather; his name is Uncle Wang.
  • ，继父。
    Cóng wǔ suì kāi shǐ, wǒ jiù hé jì fù yì qǐ shēng huó le.
    Since I was five, I have lived with my stepfather.

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.

继jìstep
父fùfather

'继' (step) and '父' (father) together name a stepfather.

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 繼; 继 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
㡭
㡭㡭繼jì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繼 pairs 糸 (rope) with 㡭 as a sound part; an older form may have shown four silk strands. The simplified 继 is only a later shorthand.

Open 继 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Family & Kinship

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