gu1 je4姑爺姑爷
Jyutpinggu1 je4
Yalegū yèh
Definition
An honorific term used by a wife's family to address her husband, or a paternal aunt's husband.
- husband of one's father's sister; paternal aunt's husband
- honorific address for a man used by his wife's family; son-in-law
colloquialfamilypeople
How it's used
Using this term creates a respectful and warm distance between a man and his wife's family. While it technically refers to a father's sister's husband, it is frequently used as a polite, affectionate title for any son-in-law within the extended family. It carries a slightly more traditional and formal weight than simply using a name or a generic title.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
My uncle will come to our house for dinner next week.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 姑姐, which refers to the father's sister herself. Using 姑爺 for the woman is a common mistake that sounds quite confusing to native speakers.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
