Meaning of 儿子
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- son
How to use 儿子
儿子 is the everyday word for son, used when talking about your own son or someone else's. It pairs naturally with 女儿 (nǚ'ér), daughter. Example: 我有一个儿子。(Wǒ yǒu yí ge érzi.) I have a son.
儿 (ér) means child and looks like a pair of little legs walking. 子 (zi) also pictures a child, so two child characters together give you 儿子, your son.
Common mistake: Learners often say 子 with a full third tone (zǐ). In 儿子 it is light and toneless: érzi. Also, the 儿 here is a real syllable ér, not the -r sound added at the end of words like 这儿 (zhèr) or 哪儿 (nǎr).
儿子 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
儿 ér · son · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
子 zi · noun suffix · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 儿子.
| 孩子 | háizi | child |
| 这儿 | zhèr | here |
| 哪儿 | nǎr | where?; wherever; anywhere; somewhere |
| 房子 | fángzi | house; building (single- or two-story) |
| 女儿 | nǚ'ér | daughter |
| 那儿 | nàr | there |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 桌子 | zhuōzi | table; desk |
| 杯子 | bēizi | cup; glass |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 女孩儿 | nǚháir | erhua form of 女孩[nu : 3 hai2] |
Questions about 儿子
What does 儿子 mean?
儿子 (érzi) means "son" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 儿子?
儿子 is made of 2 characters: 儿 (2 strokes), 子 (3 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 儿子 an HSK word?
Yes. 儿子 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 儿子 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 儿子 is written 兒子.
What is the difference between 儿子 and 孩子?
儿子 (érzi) specifically means son. 孩子 (háizi) means child or kid in general, of either gender, and parents also use it for their own children as a group.
How do I say "my son" in Chinese?
You can say 我的儿子 (wǒ de érzi), but in casual speech people usually drop 的 and say 我儿子 (wǒ érzi). Dropping 的 is common with close family members.