姑姥姥

gūlǎolao

noun

Measure Word

一位姑姥姥 wèi

Meanings

1 mother's father's sister
2 great-aunt (on the maternal grandfather's side)

Characters

father's sister; aunt

maternal grandmother

(repeated for kinship term)

Examples

我小时候经常去姑姥姥家过暑假。

Wǒ xiǎo shíhou jīngcháng qù gūlǎolao jiā guò shǔjià.

When I was little I often spent summer holidays at my great-aunt's place.

姑姥姥八十多岁了，身体还很硬朗。

Gūlǎolao bāshí duō suì le, shēntǐ hái hěn yìnglǎng.

My great-aunt is over eighty but still very robust.

Tips

culture

Chinese kinship is exact: 姑姥姥 = the sister of your maternal grandfather (姥爷). Compare 姨姥姥 (yílǎolao, maternal grandmother's sister), 姑奶奶 (gūnǎinai, paternal grandfather's sister), and 姨奶奶 (yínǎinai, paternal grandmother's sister). English just calls them all 'great-aunt.'

Stroke Order

姑 gū

姥 lǎo