Chinese word

大伯

Pronunciation

Pinyindà bó

Meaning

  • nounpaternal uncle

Example

大伯今天来我们家了。dà bó jīn tiān lái wǒ men jiā le

My paternal uncle came to our house today.

Illustration for 大伯 (paternal uncle)

More examples

下周我准备去大伯家帮忙修理院子。xià zhōu wǒ zhǔn bèi qù dà bó jiā bāng máng xiū lǐ yuàn zi

Next week, I plan to go to my paternal uncle's house to help repair the yard.

Core concept

A senior male relative on the father's side, specifically the father's older brother.

Common phrases

  • 去大伯家qù dà bó jiā

    go to one's paternal uncle's house

  • 给大伯打电话gěi dà bó dǎ diàn huà

    call one's paternal uncle

  • 请大伯吃饭qǐng dà bó chī fàn

    invite one's paternal uncle to a meal

Similar words

伯父bó fù: The older brother of one's father, in formal family language.
伯伯bó bo: The older brother of one's father, in casual spoken family language.
叔叔shū shū: The younger brother of one's father, in family language.
舅舅jiù jiù: A brother of one's mother, in family language.

Definition in Chinese

父亲的兄长，即父亲的哥哥。fù qīn de xiōng zhǎng jí fù qīn dī gē gē

Word origin

大伯 (dàbó, "paternal uncle") joins 大 (dà, "older") to 伯 (bó, "eldest brother"), a traditional sibling-order term that points to the father's older brother.

Usage tips

  • Chinese family titles often provide information that English leaves unstated, such as which side of the family a relative belongs to and whether that relative is older or younger.

Other meanings

  • unclenoun

Word lists with this word