属 (shǔ) - belong to, category, subordinate to, be under & genus (biology)

属Tone 3

shǔ ｜ 12 strokes ｜ radical:

姝树

属 · shǔ

belong to, category, subordinate to, be under;

genus (biology);

year of birth sign (Chinese zodiac);

family members, dependents.

belong to, category, subordinate to, be undergenus (biology)year of birth sign (Chinese zodiac)

Usage highlights

belong tocategoryzodiac signgenus and speciesdirect subordinatefamily members

Synonyms

  • 类— category, type
  • 归— to belong to, to revert to
  • 附属— subordinate, affiliated

Antonyms

  • 主— master, primary (antonym to subordinate sense)
  • 离— to leave, to separate from (antonym to belong to)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • This book belongs to me (这本书属于我).
  • The tiger is a mammal (老虎是哺乳动物属).
  • He was born in the Year of the Rabbit (他属兔).
  • Provide for one's family (养家属).

Collocations

  • belong to(属于)
  • category(类别)
  • zodiac sign(生肖属)
  • genus and species(属种)
  • direct subordinate(直属)
  • family members(家属)

Idioms

  • Non-human, non-ghost (非驴非马，不伦不类)(Originally from 非驴非马，后比喻不伦不类)
  • Extremely rare delicacies(Dragon's liver and phoenix marrow (龙肝凤髓))
  • Literally: What is it to you?(None of your business (干卿底事))

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character is central to the Chinese zodiac tradition, where each year is associated with an animal '属'.
  • In traditional Chinese family structure, '家属' refers to dependents and household members for whom one is responsible.
  • In classical taxonomy and categorization, '属' denotes a level of classification, as seen in biological genus.

FAQ