Chinese word

大姐

Pronunciation

Pinyindà jiě

Meaning

  • nounolder sister

Example

那位大姐是谁？nà wèi dà jiě shì shuí

Who is that older sister over there?

Illustration for 大姐 (older sister)

More examples

街上有位大姐帮我拦车。jiē shàng yǒu wèi dà jiě bāng wǒ lán chē

An older woman on the street stopped a car for me.

Core concept

An older-sister role that combines familiarity with respect, used within a family and in everyday social life.

Common phrases

  • 我的大姐wǒ de dà jiě

    my older sister

  • 大姐帮忙dà jiě bāng máng

    older sister helps

  • 大姐的孩子dà jiě de hái zi

    older sister's child

Similar words

姐姐jié jiě: An older sister within the family.
小姐xiáo jiě: A common form of address for a young woman, especially when asking for service.
女士nǚ shì: A courteous title used when addressing a woman.
阿姨ā yí: A familiar form of address for a woman of the mother's generation or another older woman.

Definition in Chinese

用于称呼比自己年纪大的女性，既可以指家中的姐姐（尤指年长者），也可作为对社会上年长女性的口语称呼，语气通常较为亲切并带一定礼貌色彩。yòng yú chēng hū bǐ zì jǐ nián jì dà de nǚ xìng jì ké yǐ zhǐ jiā zhōng de jié jiě yóu zhǐ nián zháng zhě yě kě zuò wéi duì shè huì shàng nián zhǎng nǚ xìng de kóu yǔ chēng hū yǔ qì tōng cháng jiào wéi qīn qiè bìng dài yí dìng lǐ mào sè cǎi

Word origin

大姐 (dàjiě, "older sister") combines 大 (dà, "older or eldest") with 姐 (jiě, "older sister"), extending the family idea of the eldest sister to a familiar form of address for an older woman.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, family-based forms of address can show both familiarity and respect even without a family relationship, a pattern that English speakers may not expect.

Other meanings

  • older womannoun
  • ma'amnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word