阿姨 āyí — aunt (mother’s sister)
āyí (first tone, high and level)a1yi2
aunt (mother’s sister)
HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)nounMeasure word 位Measure word 个
Meanings
aunt (mother’s sister)
Inside the family, the mother’s sister. Outside it, the ordinary polite way to address any woman of your parents’ generation — a neighbour, a shopkeeper, the woman who cleans your building.
nounma’am (address for an older woman)
nounUsed to a stranger, 阿姨 is friendly rather than familiar — it is what a child or a young adult says to a woman clearly older than they are.
Example sentences
- 这位阿姨是我妈妈的姐姐。這位阿姨是我媽媽的姐姐。Zhè (fourth tone, falling) wèi (fourth tone, falling) āyí (first tone, high and level) shì (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) māma (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) jiějie. (third tone, dipping)···
This lady is my mother’s older sister.
- 阿姨，请问洗手间在哪儿？阿姨，請問洗手間在哪兒？Āyí, (second tone, rising) qǐngwèn (third tone, dipping) xǐshǒujiān (third tone, dipping) zài (fourth tone, falling) nǎr? (third tone, dipping)···
Excuse me, ma’am — where is the toilet?
Common mistakes
Not quite女人，请问洗手间在哪儿？
Correct阿姨，请问洗手间在哪儿？
Chinese addresses a stranger with a kinship term, not with 女人 "woman". 女人 describes a person; used as a form of address it is blunt to the point of rudeness.