姐

jiě · ze2

older sister

Where it comes from

姐 is a phono-semantic character: 女, “woman”, supplies the meaning category, while 且 supplied a sound clue in earlier Chinese. The familiar meaning “older sister” became widespread later; older writing also used 姊 for that relationship. Because 姐 is not a clear oracle-bone pictograph, this drawing shows its two structural components rather than inventing an ancient family scene.

A piece of culture

More precise than “sister”
姐 marks an older sister; 妹 marks a younger sister. That distinction is built into many Chinese kinship words. 姐姐 is understood in Mandarin and Cantonese, while Cantonese commonly also says 家姐 (gaa1 ze2) for one’s own older sister.

Use it in a real word

姐姐

jiějie · ze2 ze2

older sister

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More characters

哥 ···