阿姨 meaning in English
maternal aunt; term of address for a woman of one's mother's generation
Meaning of 阿姨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- maternal aunt
- term of address for a woman of one's mother's generation
- childcare worker; nanny
- domestic worker
How to use 阿姨
阿姨 is used to address or talk about any woman around your mother's age, not only a real aunt. It is also the everyday word for a nanny, cleaner, or childcare worker. Example: 阿姨，请问地铁站在哪儿？(Āyí, qǐngwèn dìtiězhàn zài nǎr?) Auntie, excuse me, where is the subway station?
阿 (ā) is a friendly prefix used before names and family terms, and 姨 (yí) means mother's sister, with the woman radical 女 on the left. Put them together and you get a warm way to say auntie.
Common mistake: Learners often read 阿 as ē or à here, but in 阿姨 it is always first tone ā, and 姨 is second tone yí. Also, 姨 refers to the mother's side, so do not use it for your father's sister, who is 姑姑 (gūgu).
阿姨 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.
阿 ā · an initial particle · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
姨 yí · mother's sister · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Related words
Words that share a character with 阿姨.
| 阿拉伯语 | Ālābóyǔ | Arabic (language) |
| 阿门 | āmén | (loanword) amen |
| 姨妈 | yímā | (coll.) mother's sister; maternal aunt |
| 阿拉 | Ālā | (Wu dialect) I; me; my; we; us; our |
| 阿公 | āgōng | (old) grandfather; polite address for an elderly man, or a woman's father-in-law |
| 阿尔法 | ā'ěrfǎ | alpha (Greek letter Α, α) |
| 阿司匹林 | āsīpǐlín | (loanword) aspirin |
| 阿妈 | āmā | grandma (paternal) (Tw); (dialect) mother |
| 阿婆 | āpó | granny; mother-in-law |
| 阿嬷 | āmā | (Tw) grandma (also used to refer to or address an elderly woman) (from Taiwanese 阿媽, Tai-l |
| 阿爸 | Ābà | (dialect) father |
| 大姨妈 | dàyímā | mother's eldest sister (older than one's mother); (coll.) (euphemism) Aunt Flo (i.e. menst |
Questions about 阿姨
What does 阿姨 mean?
阿姨 (āyí) means "maternal aunt; term of address for a woman of one's mother's generation" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 阿姨?
阿姨 is made of 2 characters: 阿 (7 strokes), 姨 (9 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 阿姨 an HSK word?
Yes. 阿姨 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is it rude to call a young woman 阿姨?
It can be. Many women in their twenties or early thirties feel it makes them sound old. For a younger woman, 小姐姐 (xiǎo jiějie) or 美女 (měinǚ) is often used casually, while 阿姨 suits women clearly of your parents' generation.
What is the difference between 阿姨 and 姨妈?
姨妈 (yímā) usually means your actual maternal aunt, your mother's sister. 阿姨 can also mean that, but it is much more often a polite address for any older woman or a word for a domestic helper.