mou5 hai6母系
Jyutpingmou5 hai6
Yalemóuh haih
Definition
Maternal; matrilineal.
neutralfamilypeople
How it's used
Primarily used in formal or academic contexts when discussing kinship structures or genealogy. While it describes maternal lineage, it is rarely used in casual conversation where people prefer more specific terms like 外家 to refer to the mother's side of the family.
Examples
He has a very close relationship with his maternal relatives.
This family follows a matrilineal social system.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 外家, which refers specifically to the mother's family as a group or household. 母系 is a technical descriptor for lineage or social systems rather than a way to refer to your own relatives.
Grammar color guide
Noun
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Adjective
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Grammar guides
- 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.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
