祖父

zǔ fù

CL 位 wèi

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Common

Save to list

Definitions

1. father's father
2. paternal grandfather

Stop forgetting what you study.
Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Start Free Trial $9.99 / year

Lifetime for $19.99 Try the 30-second demo

Word relationships

Counterparts

1 item

• 外祖父 wài zǔ fù 外祖父 wài zǔ fù maternal grandfather (i.e. mother's father) maternal grandfather: maternal grandfather (i.e. mother's father)

Register variants

1 item

• 爷爷 yé ye 爷爷 yé ye (coll.) father's father informal spoken address: (coll.) father's father

Related words

2 items

• 祖母 zǔ mǔ 祖母 zǔ mǔ father's mother paternal grandmother: father's mother
• 祖先 zǔ xiān 祖先 zǔ xiān ancestor ancestor: ancestor

Usage notes

Collocations

祖父 usually appears in compound nouns like 曾祖父 (great-grandfather) rather than alone.

Formality

祖父 is formal and often used in writing; in daily speech, 爷爷 is preferred.

Example Sentences

1 shown

他的 祖父 去年去世了。

His grandfather passed away last year.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 祖父

• 伯叔祖父 伯叔祖父 bó shū zǔ fù: father's father's brother
• 外祖父 外祖父 wài zǔ fù: maternal grandfather (i.e. mother's father)
• 曾外祖父 曾外祖父 zēng wài zǔ fù: great-grandfather (mother's grandfather)
• 曾祖父 曾祖父 zēng zǔ fù: father's father's father
• 曾祖父母 曾祖父母 zēng zǔ fù mǔ: great-grandparents
• 祖父母 祖父母 zǔ fù mǔ: paternal grandparents
• 祖父辈 祖父辈 zǔ fù bèi: people of one's grandparents' generation
• 高祖父 高祖父 gāo zǔ fù: great-great-grandfather

Child Words of 祖父

• 父 父 fù: father
• 祖 祖 zǔ: ancestor