father's concubine; maternal aunt
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesnoun
father's concubine (as addressed by children in former times)
archaicHistorical usage found in classical literature and traditional family structures. Children addressed their father's concubines as '姨娘' rather than '母亲' to distinguish them from the legal wife.
《
Hóng红
Lóu楼
Mèng梦
》
lǐ里
de的
Zhào赵
Yí姨
niáng娘
shì是
Jiǎ贾
Zhèng政
de的
qiè妾
。
In Dream of the Red Chamber, Concubine Zhao is Jia Zheng's concubine.
Jiù旧
shí时
，
hái孩
zi子
men们
yào要
gōng恭
jìng敬
de地
chēng称
hu呼
fu父
qin亲
de的
qiè妾
wéi为
yí姨
niáng娘
。
In olden times, children had to respectfully address their father's concubines as 'yiniang'.
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Nà那
wèi位
yí姨
niáng娘
wèi为
lǎo老
yé爷
shēng生
le了
yī一
gè个
ér儿
zi子
。
That concubine bore the master a son.
noun
maternal aunt; mother's sister (dialect)
dialectRegional dialect usage found in areas such as Shanghai, parts of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and some northern regions. Equivalent to standard Mandarin 姨妈 or 姨母.
Wǒ我
yí姨
niáng娘
míng明
tiān天
cóng从
Shàng上
hǎi海
lái来
kàn看
wǒ我
。
My aunt is coming from Shanghai to visit me tomorrow.
Zài在
Shàng上
hǎi海
huà话
lǐ里
，
mā妈
ma妈
de的
jiě姐
mèi妹
jiào叫
yí姨
niáng娘
。
In Shanghainese, mother's sisters are called 'yiniang'.
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Wǒ我
yí姨
niáng娘
gěi给
wǒ我
zhī织
le了
yī一
jiàn件
máo毛
yī衣
。
My aunt knitted me a sweater.