About
The character 姨 represents a maternal aunt, structured as a phono-semantic compound. The left component 女 (female) provides the semantic category of female kinship, while the right component 夷 (yí) indicates the pronunciation. Originally referring specifically to one's mother's sisters, the term later expanded to serve as a respectful address for any woman of one's mother's generation, including unrelated acquaintances or household staff in modern usage.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
阿姨对我很好。
我姨妈住在北京。
姨夫今天来我家。
小姨送给我一本书。
阿姨在厨房里做饭。
我姨母是一位医生。
阿姨经常帮助邻居们。
姨妈和姨夫一起去旅行了。