舅 (jiù) — mother's brother, maternal uncle; husband's father (in formal/literary usage); wife's brother (in formal/literary usage)
Definition
Mostly used for your mother's brother (maternal uncle), paired with 舅妈 for his wife. The senses 'husband's father' and 'wife's brother' are archaic/literary and rarely seen today.
noun
mother's brothermaternal unclehusband's father (in formal/literary usage)wife's brother (in formal/literary usage)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
- 就jiùsound-alike(after conditional clause) then; in that case
- 救jiùsound-aliketo save, to rescue
- 旧jiùsound-alike(of objects) old, used, worn (not new)
- 咎jiùsound-aliketo blame, to censure, to find fault with
- 厩jiùsound-alikestable; cattle shed; pen (for livestock)
- 臼jiùsound-alikemortar (tool for pounding rice or grain)
Examples
- 。Wǒ de jiù jiù zhù zài běi jīng.My maternal uncle lives in Beijing.
- 。Tā shì wǒ jiù mā jiè shào de.He was introduced by my aunt (the wife of my maternal uncle).
- ，舅。Zài gǔ dài, jiù yě zhǐ zhàng fu de fù qīn.In ancient times, 'jiu' also referred to the husband's father.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
舅 combines 男, meaning male or man, with 臼, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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