About
The character "姥" is a phono-semantic compound formed from the semantic component "女", meaning woman, and the phonetic component "老", meaning old, which together originally conveyed the general concept of an elderly female. Etymologically, it appeared in early texts with this broad sense, often referring to matrons or older women in respectful contexts, but its meaning gradually narrowed over centuries to specifically denote a maternal grandmother in modern Mandarin, particularly within northern dialectal usage. This semantic shift from a generic term to a specialized kinship designation occurred without altering the character's structural composition, reflecting an adaptive yet stable linguistic role throughout its historical development.
Example Sentences Hide
我姥姥很慈祥。
姥姥住在乡下。
我经常去看姥姥。
姥姥做的饭很好吃。
妈妈和姥姥在聊天。
姥姥年轻时是个教师。
我们全家都爱姥姥。
姥姥给了我很多压岁钱。