表哥

biǎogē

noun #8,677

Measure Word

一个表哥 gè

Meanings

1 older male cousin (on mother's side, or father's sister's side)
2 male cousin (older, from a different surname)

Characters

external; outside; maternal side

Examples

HSK 1

表哥比我大三岁。

Biǎogē bǐ wǒ dà sān suì.

My cousin is three years older than me.

HSK 2

小时候我经常去表哥家玩。

Xiǎoshíhòu wǒ jīngcháng qù biǎogē jiā wán.

When I was little, I often went to my cousin's house to play.

HSK 3

我表哥下个月结婚。

Wǒ biǎogē xià gè yuè jiéhūn.

My cousin is getting married next month.

Tips

culture

Chinese distinguishes maternal vs paternal cousins. 表哥 is a cousin with a different surname (mother's brother's son, or father's sister's son). A same-surname paternal cousin is 堂哥. English lumps them all as 'cousin.'

grammar

The full set: 表哥 (older male), 表弟 (younger male), 表姐 (older female), 表妹 (younger female) - all for maternal-side or cross-surname cousins.

Stroke Order

表 biǎo

哥 gē