Chinese word

嫂子

Pronunciation

Pinyinsǎo zi

Meaning

  • nounsister-in-law

Example

我昨天见了嫂子。wǒ zuó tiān jiàn le sǎo zi

I saw my sister-in-law yesterday.

Illustration for 嫂子 (sister-in-law)

More examples

过年时，嫂子总是准备很多好吃的。guò nián shí sǎo zi zǒng shì zhǔn bèi hěn duō hǎo chī de

During the New Year holiday, my sister-in-law always prepares lots of delicious food.

Core concept

An everyday kinship role connecting a speaker with an older brother's wife.

Common phrases

  • 拜访嫂子bài fǎng sǎo zi

    visit one's sister-in-law

  • 向嫂子学习xiàng sǎo zi xué xí

    learn from one's sister-in-law

  • 称呼嫂子chēng hū sǎo zi

    address as sister-in-law

Similar words

嫂嫂sáo sǎo: A colloquial family term for an older brother's wife.
弟媳dì xí: A family term for a younger brother's wife.
妯娌zhóu lǐ: A term for the wives of brothers when referring to their relationship with each other.

Definition in Chinese

称呼哥哥的妻子，常用于家庭和口语场合。chēng hū gē gē de qī zǐ cháng yòng yú jiā tíng hé kóu yǔ chǎng hé

Word origin

嫂子 (sǎozi, "sister-in-law") combines 嫂 (sǎo, "older brother's wife") with 子 (zi, "noun suffix") to form an everyday kinship term.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, kinship titles can also be forms of address, so this term may be spoken directly to the person rather than used only when describing the family relationship.

Related words

  • 大嫂dà sǎoolder brother's wifenoun

Word lists with this word