The character 侄 means "nephew", specifically a brother's son, originating from an ancient word for a relative's child. To form the common, specific word for "nephew", the single-character 侄 is combined with 子, a very common suffix in Chinese that often nominalizes or familiarizes terms, especially those for family members and people. Therefore, 侄子 is created by appending this generic, person-denoting suffix to the specific root 侄, resulting in a clear, two-character word that explicitly denotes the male person in that familial relationship.