Chinese Family Words and Phrases

Parents

妈妈 and 爸爸 are the warm everyday words; 父母 is the grown-up term for your parents as a pair — the one you'll use with colleagues and on forms.

1. 1 妈妈 mā ma — Mom
2. 2 爸爸 bà ba — Dad
3. 3 父母 fù mǔ — Parents

Brothers and sisters, older and younger

There is no plain word for 'brother' or 'sister' — Chinese makes you say who's older. That little detail says a lot about how family works here.

1. 4 哥哥 gē ge — Older brother
2. 5 姐姐 jiě jie — Older sister
3. 6 弟弟 dì di — Younger brother
4. 7 妹妹 mèi mei — Younger sister
5. 8 兄弟 xiōng dì — Brothers
6. 9 姐妹 jiě mèi — Sisters

Spouses and children

The standard words for husband, wife, son and daughter. In casual speech couples say 老公 and 老婆 — roughly 'hubby' and 'wifey.'

1. 10 丈夫 zhàng fu — Husband
2. 11 妻子 qī zi — Wife
3. 12 儿子 ér zi — Son
4. 13 女儿 nǚ ér — Daughter

Grandparents, uncles and aunties

爷爷 and 奶奶 are specifically your father's parents — the maternal side has its own separate titles. And uncle and auntie reach far beyond your actual family tree.

1. 14 爷爷 yé ye — Grandpa
2. 15 奶奶 nǎi nai — Grandma
3. 16 叔叔 shū shu — Uncle
4. 17 阿姨 ā yí — Auntie

Introducing your family

For the moment someone asks about home: how many of you there are, and who's who in the photo you're about to show.

1. 18 你的家庭有几个人？ nǐ de jiā tíng yǒu jǐ ge rén — How many people are in your family?
2. 19 我来自一个大家庭。 wǒ lái zì yī ge dà jiā tíng — I come from a big family
3. 20 这是我丈夫。 zhè shì wǒ zhàng fu — This is my husband

In real life: showing a family photo