外祖父

wàizǔfù

noun #21,198

Measure Word

一位外祖父 wèi

Meanings

1 maternal grandfather
2 mother's father

Characters

outside / external / maternal

ancestor / grandfather

Examples

我的外祖父是一位老中医。

Wǒ de wàizǔfù shì yī wèi lǎo zhōngyī.

My maternal grandfather was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

她每年夏天都去外祖父家住一段时间。

Tā měi nián xiàtiān dōu qù wàizǔfù jiā zhù yī duàn shíjiān.

She stays at her maternal grandfather's home for a period each summer.

Tips

usage

Chinese kinship terms distinguish maternal and paternal relatives. 外祖父 = mother's father. The 外 (outside) indicates the maternal side (the family you 'married outside' into). The paternal grandfather is 祖父 or 爷爷. Colloquially, 外公 is also widely used.

Stroke Order

外 wài

祖 zǔ

父 fù