祖父母
zǔfùmǔ
In Chinese, the phrase for grandparents is 祖父母 (zǔfùmǔ).
The term 祖父母 refers to the parents of a person's father or mother. However, note that in specific contexts, 祖父母 is often understood as referring to paternal grandparents, while maternal grandparents are specifically called 外祖父母.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 祖 (ancestor/forefather), 父 (father) and 母 (mother).
Which one should you use?
While 祖父母 is the standard term, in spoken Chinese, people almost always use 爷爷奶奶 to refer to paternal grandparents. For maternal grandparents, you would use the term 外祖父母.
How do you pronounce it?
zǔfùmǔ
When do people say it?
When speaking about specific family members, Chinese speakers use distinct terms based on whether the grandparent is from the paternal or maternal side. For example, 爷爷 means paternal grandfather, 奶奶 means paternal grandmother, 外公 means maternal grandfather and 外婆 means maternal grandmother.
Did you know?
- The term 外 in maternal grandparent titles literally means 'outside'. Historically, this reflected the belief that a woman joined her husband's family upon marriage, making her own parents 'outside' the immediate kinship group.
- Even if you are not related to someone, you might call an elderly person 爷爷 or 奶奶 as a sign of respect. It is a way of treating strangers like extended family members in social settings.
- Chinese has a vast system of kinship terms that distinguishes between elders based on whether they are the older or younger sibling of a grandparent, unlike the single English word 'grandparent'.
Examples in context
- 虽然我们大多数人比我们的父母、祖父母还要富裕得多，但是与之相应的快乐程度却没有多大的改变。While most of us are significantly better off financially than our parents and grandparents, happiness levels haven't changed to reflect that.This sentence compares the financial status of people to that of their 祖父母.Tatoeba #743112 by Yashanti, translation #743097 by eastasiastudent
- 露西被她的祖父母揶揄。Lucy was bantered by her grandparents.This sentence describes someone being teased by their 祖父母.Tatoeba #823028 by Martha, translation #822357 by BraveSentry
- Lucy是被她的祖父母养大的。Lucy was brought up by her grandparents.This sentence mentions someone being raised by their 祖父母.Tatoeba #346764 by fucongcong, translation #29566 by CN
- 你好，爷爷奶奶！Hello, grandparents!
- 谢谢您，外公外婆！Thank you, grandparents!
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zihan and Haoran are talking about their family holiday plans.
- 梓涵 Zihan你春节打算回家看祖父母吗？Nǐ Chūnjié dǎsuàn huíjiā kàn zǔfùmǔ ma?Do you plan to go home and visit your grandparents for the Spring Festival?
- 浩然 Haoran是的，我已经买了回家的机票。Shì de, wǒ yǐjīng mǎile huíjiā de jīpiào.Yes, I have already bought my plane tickets home.
- 梓涵 Zihan你的祖父母一定很高兴见到你。Nǐ de zǔfùmǔ yīdìng hěn gāoxìng jiàndào nǐ.Your grandparents must be very happy to see you.
- 浩然 Haoran我也很想念他们。Wǒ yě hěn xiǎngniàn tāmen.I miss them very much too.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
