叔叔
uncle; form of address for an adult man
HSK level
- Pinyin
- shūshu
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 16
- Register
- spoken
- Measure word
- 个 / 位
Stroke order for 叔叔
叔叔 is written with 16 strokes (叔: 8, 叔: 8). The animation replays automatically.
What does 叔叔 mean?
叔叔 (shūshu) literally means 'father's younger brother.'
Unlike English 'uncle,' which lumps together every parental sibling, Chinese kinship is specific: 叔叔 is only your father's younger brother — your father's older brother is 伯伯 (bóbo), and a mother's brother is 舅舅 (jiùjiu). The much more common everyday use is as a polite form of address: a child or young person calls any unrelated adult man about their parents' age 叔叔, the way an English-speaking child might say 'mister.'
You'll hear kids say 叔叔好 to a neighbor, a delivery driver, or a family friend. The reduplicated 叔叔 is the spoken form; the single character 叔 is mostly written, used in compound titles.
Note: Beyond literal family use, Chinese children call any unrelated adult man around their parents' age 叔叔 — there's no English equivalent. Adults rarely use it for strangers.
Character by character
Memory hook: Doubled 叔叔 mirrors the doubled 妈妈, 爸爸, 哥哥 pattern Chinese uses for close family titles.
Example sentences
叔叔好！
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, uncle / sir!
spoken
我叔叔是医生。
Wǒ shūshu shì yīshēng.
My uncle is a doctor.
neutral
这位叔叔住在我家旁边。
Zhè wèi shūshu zhù zài wǒ jiā pángbiān.
This gentleman lives next to my house.
spoken
孩子，谢谢叔叔。
Háizi, xièxie shūshu.
Sweetie, say thank you to the uncle.
spoken
我叔叔有两个孩子。
Wǒ shūshu yǒu liǎng ge háizi.
My uncle has two kids.
neutral
Common phrases with 叔叔
Synonyms
伯伯 is specifically your father's OLDER brother. Same generation as 叔叔, just older. The two are not interchangeable inside the family.
舅舅 is your MOTHER's brother. Chinese kinship draws a sharp line between father-side and mother-side relatives; 叔叔 is father-side only.
Don't confuse 叔叔 with
舅舅 = mother's brother. 叔叔 = father's younger brother. Both translate as 'uncle' in English but are different relationships in Chinese.
阿姨 is the female counterpart for addressing adult women of parents' age (literally 'mother's sister'). Children pair 叔叔 (men) with 阿姨 (women).
大叔 means 'middle-aged man' and is more casual, sometimes joking or slightly distant. 叔叔 is warmer and used by children.
FAQ
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