Chinese word

堂哥

Pronunciation

Pinyintáng gē

Meaning

  • nounolder male cousin

Example

我的堂哥比我大三岁。wǒ de táng gē bǐ wǒ dà sān suì

My older male cousin is three years older than me.

Illustration for 堂哥 (older male cousin)

More examples

去年堂哥结婚了，我去参加了婚礼。qù nián táng gē jié hūn le wǒ qù cān jiā le hūn lǐ

Last year, my older male cousin got married, and I attended the wedding.

Core concept

A male cousin pictured as an older brother within one shared paternal family branch.

Common phrases

  • 我有个堂哥wǒ yǒu gè táng gē

    have an older male cousin

  • 去堂哥家qù táng gē jiā

    go to my older male cousin's home

  • 堂哥结婚了táng gē jié hūn le

    My older male cousin got married

Similar words

表哥biǎo gē: An older male cousin from the mother's side or from a family branch with a different surname.
表弟biǎo dì: A younger male cousin from the mother's side or from a family branch with a different surname.
堂弟táng dì: A younger male cousin from the father's side who has the same family surname as the speaker.

Definition in Chinese

用于称呼父方同姓且比自己年长的男性亲属。yòng yú chēng hū fù fāng tóng xìng qiě bǐ zì jǐ nián zhǎng de nán xìng qīn shǔ

Word origin

堂 (táng, "same paternal clan") + 哥 (gē, "older brother") places a father's-side male cousin in the role of an older brother.

Usage tips

  • English often uses cousin without showing age or family side, so this Chinese term packs two useful family details into one word.

Other meanings

  • paternal cousinnoun
  • older cousinnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word