祖父

zǔ fù

CL 位 wèi

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Common

Definitions

1. father's father
2. paternal grandfather

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