mui6 fu1妹夫
Jyutpingmui6 fu1
Yalemuih fū
Definition
Younger sister's husband.
colloquialfamilypeople
How it's used
Kinship terms in Cantonese are highly specific regarding birth order and gender. Using 妹夫 correctly identifies the person as the spouse of a younger female sibling, distinguishing him from a 姐夫 who is the spouse of an elder female sibling. It is common to use the classifier 個 when referring to these relatives in conversation.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
He is my younger sister's husband and works as an accountant.
Is your younger sister's husband coming over for dinner tonight?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 姐夫 for any sister's husband, but Cantonese speakers strictly differentiate between the two based on the relative age of the sister compared to the speaker.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
