Meaning of 姐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- older sister
How to use 姐
姐 usually appears in words like 姐姐 (jiějie) for your own older sister, and 姐妹 (jiěmèi) for sisters. People also add it after a name or use 大姐 (dàjiě) as a warm way to address an older woman. Example: 我姐姐是老师。(Wǒ jiějie shì lǎoshī.) My older sister is a teacher.
姐 combines 女 (nǚ, woman) on the left with 且 (qiě) on the right, which gives a hint of the sound jiě. Picture the woman in the family who stands a little taller than you: your older sister.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 姐 (jiě, older sister) with 妹 (mèi, younger sister), since both have the 女 radical. Also note that in 姐姐 the second syllable is said in a light neutral tone: jiějie, not jiějiě.
姐 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.
姐 jiě · older sister · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 姐.
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | young lady; miss |
| 姐姐 | jiějie | older sister |
| 姐妹 | jiěmèi | sisters; siblings |
| 大姐 | dàjiě | big sister; elder sister |
| 兄弟姐妹 | xiōngdìjiěmèi | brothers and sisters; siblings |
| 姐夫 | jiěfu | (coll.) older sister's husband |
| 表姐 | biǎojiě | older female cousin through a female relative |
| 学姐 | xuéjiě | senior or older female schoolmate |
| 空姐 | kōngjiě | abbr. for 空中小姐; stewardess |
| 师姐 | shījiě | senior female fellow student or apprentice; daughter (older than oneself) of one's teacher |
| 空中小姐 | kōngzhōngxiǎojiě | stewardess; air hostess |
Questions about 姐
What does 姐 mean?
姐 (jiě) means "older sister" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 姐?
姐 is made of 1 character: 姐 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 姐 an HSK word?
Yes. 姐 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is it polite to call a woman 小姐 (xiǎojiě)?
小姐 means miss or young lady and is fine in formal settings or written forms. In some regions and casual speech it can sound odd or even rude, so many people now prefer 美女 (měinǚ) or simply 你好 (nǐ hǎo) to get attention.
How do I say older sister's husband in Chinese?
Use 姐夫 (jiěfu), which means your older sister's husband. It is a common family term used both in speech and when directly addressing him.