How to Say "Great Grandmother" in Chinese

曾祖母

zēngzǔmǔ

In Chinese, the phrase for great grandmother is 曾祖母 (zēngzǔmǔ).

The term refers specifically to the mother of one's grandmother.

What does it mean word for word?

The word 曾祖母 is composed of 曾 (zēng, great/once/former), 祖 (zǔ, ancestor/grandfather) and 母 (mǔ, mother).

曾祖母 is used in formal settings. In spoken, informal Chinese, people often use 太奶奶 (tài nǎinai) to address or refer to their great-grandmother.

To indicate possession, such as 'great-grandmother's house', add the particle 的 (de) after 曾祖母 to form 曾祖母的.

zēngzǔmǔ

While 曾祖母 is the formal term, the informal 太奶奶 uses the character 太 which literally means 'too' or 'extreme', acting as an intensifier for the grandmother's status.
In traditional Chinese society, the 'great grandmother' was often the highest-ranking female authority in a multi-generational household, holding significant power over domestic decisions.
Chinese kinship terms are so precise that there are unique words for the great-grandmother on the maternal side, known as 太外祖母, which differs from the paternal 曾祖母.

這棵樹是湯姆的曾祖母植的。
This tree was planted by Tom's great-grandmother.
This sentence shows how to use 曾祖母 when describing someone's relative.
Tatoeba #13843562 by DaoSeng, translation #8462296 by Hybrid
我的曾祖母是一位老師。
Wǒ de zēngzǔmǔ shì yī wèi lǎoshī.
My great grandmother was a teacher.
那位老太太是我的曾祖母。
Nà wèi lǎotàitai shì wǒ de zēngzǔmǔ.
That old lady is my great grandmother.

Jiayi and Zhiqiang are looking at an old family album.

佳怡 Jiayi

志强，你看這張照片上的曾祖母。
Zhìqiáng, nǐ kàn zhè zhāng zhàopiàn shàng de zēngzǔmǔ.
Zhiqiang, look at the great grandmother in this photo.
志强 Zhiqiang

她看起來很溫柔。
Tā kàn qǐlái hěn wēnróu.
She looks very gentle.
佳怡 Jiayi

是的，她以前很擅長寫書法。
Shì de, tā yǐqián hěn shàncháng xiě shūfǎ.
Yes, she used to be very good at calligraphy.
志强 Zhiqiang

真是太令人佩服了。
Zhēn shì tài lìng rén pèifú le.
That is truly admirable.

Sources

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