Definition
舅 primarily refers to a person's mother's brother (maternal uncle) in everyday Chinese. In formal or written contexts, it can also mean the husband's father or the wife's brother. Note that Chinese kinship terms are more specific than English 'uncle' — 舅 is only used for maternal relatives, while paternal uncle is 伯 or 叔. It appears in compounds like 舅妈 (maternal uncle's wife) and 舅舅 (colloquial form).
n.
mother's brothermaternal unclehusband's father (in formal/literary usage)wife's brother (in formal/literary usage)
Examples
- 。Wǒ de jiùjiù zhù zài Běijīng.My maternal uncle lives in Beijing.
- 。Tā shì wǒ jiùmā jièshào de.He was introduced by my aunt (the wife of my maternal uncle).
- ,舅。Zài gǔdài, jiù yě zhǐ zhàngfu de fùqin.In ancient times, 'jiu' also referred to the husband's father.
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