‘隔代’ literally means ‘separated by one generation’ — 隔 (gé) means ‘to separate, to intervene’, and 代 (dài) means ‘generation’. Together, they describe a relationship or phenomenon that skips one generation, most commonly referring to grandparents raising grandchildren (bypassing the parents’ generation) or biological traits reappearing after a generational gap (e.g., in genetics or animal breeding). It emphasizes discontinuity or skipping in the generational chain.

The term is frequently used in family sociology, education policy, and biology — especially when discussing ‘隔代抚养’ (grandparent-led child-rearing) or ‘隔代遗传’ (atavism or skipped-generation inheritance in animals and plants). While it can apply to human families, its strongest collocations are in agricultural and veterinary contexts, such as describing coat-color patterns or disease susceptibility that emerge only in every other generation among livestock or pets.