order of brothers; birth rank
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
the order of brothers from eldest to youngest (eldest, second, third, youngest)
formalClassical Chinese kinship terminology. 伯 (bó) refers to the eldest brother, 仲 (zhòng) to the second, 叔 (shū) to the third, and 季 (jì) to the youngest. Still used in formal contexts, historical studies, and traditional family naming conventions.
Gǔ古
rén人
yǐ以
bó伯
zhòng仲
shū叔
jì季
lái来
biǎo表
shì示
xiōng兄
dì弟
de的
pái排
háng行
。
Ancient people used the terms bo, zhong, shu, and ji to indicate the birth order of brothers.
Kǒng孔
zǐ子
zì字
zhòng仲
ní尼
，
shuō说
míng明
tā他
zài在
jiā家
zhōng中
pái排
háng行
dì第
èr二
。
Confucius's courtesy name was Zhongni, indicating he was the second son in his family.
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Zài在
chuán传
tǒng统
jiā家
zú族
zhōng中
，
bó伯
zhòng仲
shū叔
jì季
de的
shùn顺
xù序
réng仍
rán然
fēi非
cháng常
zhòng重
yào要
。
In traditional clans, the order of seniority from eldest to youngest remains very important.