爷 (yé): grandpa, old gentleman
爷 (yé) is a Chinese character meaning “grandpa.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 父 (semantic) and 卩 (structural). It ranks #1006 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 爷 father. Its radical form 父 (father) appears in many related characters such as 爸 (bà, father), 父 (fù, father), 爹 (diē, dad).
Definitions
- grandpa
- old gentleman
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 爷 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 爷
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 爷爷noun | yé ye | (coll.) paternal grandfather | 2 |
| 大爷noun | dà yé | arrogant idler | 5 |
| 姥爷noun | lǎo ye | (coll.) mother's father | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 老天爷noun | lǎo tiān yé | God |
| 少爷noun | shào ye | son of the boss |
| 老爷noun | lǎo ye | (respectful) lord |
| 老爷子noun | lǎo yé zi | my (your etc) old father |
| 老爷爷noun | lǎo yé ye | (polite) elderly man |
| 爷们noun | yé men | menfolk (collective term for men of different generations) |
| 老爷车noun | lǎo ye chē | classic car |
| 姑爷noun | gū ye | son-in-law (used by wife's family) |
| 老大爷noun | lǎo dà yé | uncle |
| 财神爷noun | cái shén yé | god of wealth |
| 师爷 | shī yé | (historical) privately hired legal or administrative advisor to a government official |
| 老佛爷noun | lǎo fó yé | title of respect for the queen mother or the emperor's father |
| 阎王爷proper-noun | yán wáng yé | (Buddhism) Yama, the King of Hell |
| 王爷noun | wáng ye | prince |
| 倒爷noun | dǎo yé | (coll.) a profiteer |
爷 appears in 43 compound words: 9 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 21 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 爷 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
爷爷喜欢在晚饭后散步，说这样有助于消化。
Yéye xǐhuan zài wǎnfàn hòu sànbù, shuō zhèyàng yǒuzhù yú xiāohuà.
Grandpa likes to take walks after dinner, saying it helps with digestion.
“巴生一马当先新春大团拜” 财神爷骑马游街拜年万人空巷 黄瑞林建议挖掘巴生...
bā shēng yī mǎ dāng xiān xīn chūn dà tuán bài cái shén yé qí mǎ yóu jiē bài nián wàn rén kōng xiàng huáng ruì lín jiàn yì wā jué bā shēng . . .
"Klang is the first to take the lead in the New Year's group worship" The God of Wealth rides horses to the streets to pay New Year's greetings to 10,000 people in the empty alleys Huang Ruilin suggested digging Klang...
台南三老爷宫百变12花神 化身污水孔盖、生日盐御守
tái nán sān lǎo yé gōng bǎi biàn huā shén huà shēn wū shuǐ kǒng gài shēng rì yán yù shǒu
Tainan's Third Lord Temple: The 12 Flower Goddesses in Disguise Manifesting as Sewer Manhole Covers and Birthday Salt Amulets
童言无忌威力强!萌娃拜年脱口“祝爷爷奶奶早生贵子” 全网笑翻
tóng yán wú jì wēi lì qiáng ! méng wá bài nián tuō kǒu zhù yé yé nǎi nǎi zǎo shēng guì zǐ quán wǎng xiào fān
Children's words pack a punch! Cute kid's New Year's greeting spills out: "Wishing Grandpa and Grandma a baby soon!" The whole internet is in stitches.
小朋友拜年:祝爷爷奶奶早生贵子!
xiǎo péng yǒu bài nián zhù yé yé nǎi nǎi zǎo shēng guì zǐ !
Little ones pay New Year's respects: Wishing Grandpa and Grandma a baby soon!
茶香氤氲,温情暖暖~看阿婆爷叔如何解锁“行云流水”..
chá xiāng 氤 氲 , wēn qíng nuǎn nuǎn kàn ā pó yé shū rú hé jiě suǒ háng yún liú shuǐ . .
The aroma of tea fills the air, warmth and affection abound~ Watch as the grandmothers and uncles unlock the art of "flowing like clouds and water"...
我和妈妈，弟弟还有爷爷奶奶住在一起。
Wǒ hé māma, dìdi háiyǒu yéye nǎinai zhù zàiyīqǐ.
I live with my mother, brother and my grandparents.
那个故事是我爷爷告诉我的。
Nàge gùshi shì wǒ yéye gàosu wǒ de.
It was my grandfather that told me that story.
我上周看到了爷爷。
Wǒ shàng zhōu kàn dào le yéye.
I saw grandfather last week.
我的爷爷喜欢大清早的散步。
Wǒ de yéye xǐhuan dàqīngzǎo de sànbù.
My grandfather is fond of taking a walk early in the morning.
Character Family
父 Radical Family — Characters sharing the father radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 爷 (yé) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 爷 (yé)?
Is 爷 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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