舅

jiù

男 + 臼

Definitions

jiù (noun) maternal uncle

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 男 represents the meaning and 臼 represents the sound.

Semantic: 男 Phonetic: 臼

About

The character 舅 names a maternal uncle, more precisely the brother of one's mother. It belongs to the phono-semantic category of Chinese characters, combining a semantic element and a phonetic element. The bottom part, 男, carries the meaning 'man, male' and signals that the term refers to a male relative. The top part, 臼, originally depicted a mortar for pounding, but in this character it only contributes the sound. This structure reflects the meticulous design of the traditional Chinese kinship system, which uses separate characters for maternal and paternal uncles across all generational levels.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的舅舅很好。

Wǒ de jiùjiu hěn hǎo.

My uncle is very good.

舅舅给我礼物。

Jiùjiu gěi wǒ lǐwù.

Uncle gives me a gift.

我舅舅是位老师。

Wǒ jiùjiu shì wèi lǎoshī.

My uncle is a teacher.

舅妈和舅舅都来了。

Jiùmā hé jiùjiu dōu lái le.

Aunt and uncle both came.

昨天舅舅从北京回来。

Zuótiān jiùjiu cóng Běijīng huílái.

Yesterday uncle returned from Beijing.

因为舅舅帮忙，我完成了作业。

Yīnwèi jiùjiu bāngmáng, wǒ wánchéng le zuòyè.

Because uncle helped, I finished my homework.

舅舅虽然很忙，但是经常来看我们。

Jiùjiu suīrán hěn máng, dànshì jīngcháng lái kàn wǒmen.

Although uncle is very busy, he often comes to see us.

舅舅在跨国公司担任高级经理。

Jiùjiu zài kuàguó gōngsī dānrèn gāojí jīnglǐ.

Uncle works as a senior manager in a multinational company.

Related Characters

Component: 男

Component: 臼

舅