syu3庶
Jyutpingsyu3
Yalesyu
Definition
Born of a concubine; not born of the principal wife.
writtenfamilypeople
How it's used
This character is almost exclusively encountered in historical contexts or period dramas describing traditional family hierarchies. It is a formal, literary morpheme that does not appear in modern casual speech. It serves as a stark contrast to the status of children born to the primary wife, known as 嫡出.
Examples
He was born of a concubine, his family rarely mentions him.
In the past, children born of concubines had very low status.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a common adjective, but it is a bound morpheme that requires a suffix like 出 to function as a descriptive term. It is never used to describe someone in a modern, everyday social context.
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.
