HSK · Level 26
135 words
Chinese word
子女
Pronunciation
Pinyinzǐ nǚ
Meaning
- nounchildren
Example
社区中心为子女开了英语班。shè qū zhōng xīn wèi zí nǚ kāi le yīng yǔ bān
The community center opened an English class for children.
More examples
父母应该主动与子女沟通他们的想法。fù mǔ yīng gāi zhǔ dòng yǔ zí nǚ gōu tōng tā men de xiáng fǎ
Parents should take the initiative to communicate their thoughts with their children.
Core concept
The children belonging to one family, treated as a single group rather than as separate sons and daughters.
Common phrases
与子女沟通yǔ zí nǚ gōu tōng
communicate with children
为子女准备wèi zí nǚ zhǔn bèi
prepare for children
Similar words
孩子hái zi: A child or children referred to in ordinary family or conversational language.
儿童ér tóng: Children viewed as a general group in official, school, or statistical contexts.
小孩xiǎo hái: A young child or children described in casual spoken language.
Definition in Chinese
指称某人的儿子和女儿，是对子女的统称，常用于正式或书面语。zhǐ chēng mǒu rén de ér zi hé nǚ ér shì duì zí nǚ de tǒng chēng cháng yòng yú zhèng shì huò shū miàn yǔ
Word origin
子女 (zǐnǚ, "children") is a transparent compound of 子 (zǐ, "child or son") and 女 (nǚ, "daughter or woman"), with the pair covering a person's children as a whole.
Usage tips
- This word is useful for recognizing official or written Chinese, where it can refer to a family group in a neutral way even though casual speech more often uses 孩子 (háizi, "child or children").
Other meanings
- offspringnoun
Related words
- 子女教育zí nǚ jiào yùchildren's educationnoun