外公 wàigōng mother's father
(colloquial) mother's father; maternal grandfather
How to remember 外公: 外 outside + 公 public = mother's father.
Characters
How it is used
- 外公 (wàigōng) is the colloquial term for one's mother's father - maternal grandfather.
- Chinese distinguishes maternal and paternal grandparents where English just says "grandfather" - the paternal side is 爷爷 (yéye).
- Regional variant: northern Mandarin speakers (especially around Beijing) often say 姥爷 (lǎoye) instead of 外公 for the same relative.
- The character 外 ("outer") marks the mother's side of the family as traditionally "outside" the patrilineal family line - the same logic gives us 外婆, 外孙, etc.
Example sentences
- 他很像他外公。 Tā hěn xiàng tā wàigōng.He resembles his grandfather.