Meaning of 祖母
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- father's mother; paternal grandmother
How to use 祖母
祖母 is the formal or written word for your father's mother. You will see it in documents, essays, and family trees. In everyday speech people usually say 奶奶 (nǎinai) instead. Example: 我的祖母今年八十岁了。(Wǒ de zǔmǔ jīnnián bāshí suì le.) My grandmother is eighty this year.
Combine 祖 (zǔ), the ancestor you see in 祖国 (zǔguó) and 祖父 (zǔfù), with 母 (mǔ), mother. The "ancestor mother" on your father's side is your paternal grandmother.
Common mistake: Learners often use 祖母 for any grandmother. It only means the father's mother, and the mother's mother is 外祖母 (wàizǔmǔ), usually called 姥姥 (lǎolao) or 外婆 (wàipó). Also keep the tones as third plus third, which in speech becomes zú mǔ.
祖母 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.
祖 zǔ · ancestor · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
母 mǔ · mother · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 祖母.
| 母亲 | mǔqīn | mother |
| 父母 | fùmǔ | father and mother; parents |
| 字母 | zìmǔ | letter (of the alphabet) |
| 祖父 | zǔfù | father's father; paternal grandfather |
| 祖国 | zǔguó | motherland |
| 母鸡 | mǔjī | hen; don't know (humorous slang mimicking Cantonese 唔知, Jyutping: m4 zi1) |
| 母女 | mǔnǚ | mother and daughter; mother-daughter |
| 母子 | mǔzǐ | mother and child; parent and subsidiary (companies) |
| 祖先 | zǔxiān | ancestors; forebears; (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day |
| 伯母 | bómǔ | wife of father's elder brother; aunt |
| 继母 | jìmǔ | stepmother |
| 岳母 | yuèmǔ | wife's mother; mother-in-law |
Questions about 祖母
What does 祖母 mean?
祖母 (zǔmǔ) means "father's mother; paternal grandmother" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 祖母?
祖母 is made of 2 characters: 祖 (9 strokes), 母 (5 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 祖母 an HSK word?
Yes. 祖母 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Should I call my grandmother 祖母 to her face?
Usually not. 祖母 sounds formal, so when talking to her or about her casually, Chinese speakers say 奶奶 (nǎinai). Save 祖母 for writing or formal contexts.
What is the word for great-grandmother on the father's side?
It is 曾祖母 (zēngzǔmǔ), adding 曾 (zēng) for one more generation back. In casual speech people often say 太奶奶 (tài nǎinai).