Family members and greetings in Chinese is one of the most difficult vocabulary lessons for beginning learners. There are a lot of rules! In this article, we’ll help you learn 45 new words to use when addressing different family members in Chinese.
No. | Hanzi | pinyins | English |
1 | 妈妈 | mā mā | Mama |
2 | 母亲 | mǔ qīn | Mother - Formal |
3 | 妈咪 | mā mī | Mother - Informal |
4 | 娘/阿娘 | Niáng/ ā niáng | Mother - Chinese Classics |
5 | 阿母 | ā mǔ | Mother - Hokkien accent |
6 | 老妈 | lǎo mā | Mother - Respectful |
7 | 爸爸 | bà ba | Father |
8 | 父亲 | fù qīn | Father - Formal |
9 | 爹地 | diē dì | Father - English absorption |
10 | 爹 | diē | Father - Chinese Classics |
11 | 阿爸 | ā bà | Father - Hockey dialect |
12 | 老爸 | lǎo bà | Father - Respectful |
13 | 外公 | wài gōng | Grandpa from Mother's Side |
14 | 爷爷 | yé yé | Grandpa from Father's Side |
15 | 外婆 | wài pó | Grandma from Mother's Side |
16 | 奶奶 | nǎi nai | Grandma from Father's Side |
17 | 阿嬷 | ā mā | Grandma - Taiwanese accent |
18 | 阿公 | ā gōng | Taiwanese Grandfather |
19 | 姥姥 | lǎo lao | Grandma - North Chinese accent |
20 | 老爷 | lǎo yé | Grandfather - North Chinese accent |
21 | 哥哥 | gē gē | Old brother |
22 | 姐姐 | jiě jiě | Older sister |
23 | 妹妹 | mèi mei | Younger sister |
24 | 弟弟 | dì dì | Younger brother |
25 | 大姐 | dà jiě | Oldest sister |
26 | 大哥 | dà gē | Eldest Brother |
27 | 堂哥 | táng gē | Male Cousin from Paternal Side |
28 | 表哥 | biǎo gē | Male Cousin from Mother's Side |
29 | 堂姐 | táng jiě | Paternal Cousin |
30 | 表姐 | biǎo jiě | Female cousin from the mother's side |
31 | 伯伯 | bó bo | Uncle from Next to Father - Father's Brother |
32 | 伯母 | bó mǔ | Aunt/ Wife of Uncle Next to Father |
33 | 叔叔 | shū shu | Uncle - Father's sister |
34 | 婶婶 | shěn shen | Aunt - Father's sister's wife |
35 | 姑姑 | gū gū | Aunt from the Father's Side |
36 | 舅舅 | jiù jiu | Uncle from Mother's Side |
37 | 阿姨 | ā yí | Aunts/Aunties - All of Mother's Sisters |
38 | 公公 | gōng gong | Son-in-law - Husband's Father |
39 | 婆婆 | pó po | Mother-in-law - Husband's Mother |
40 | 岳父 | yuè fù | Son-in-law - Wife's Father |
41 | 岳母 | yuè mǔ | Mother-in-law - Mother Wife |
42 | 女婿 | nǚ xu | Son-in-law |
43 | 媳妇 | xí fù | Daughter-in-law |
44 | 嫂子 | sǎo zi | Brother-in-law |
45 | 弟妹 | dì mèi | Younger brother-in-law |
There are many rules and vocabulary choices when it comes to family greetings in Chinese. Want your child to learn even more Chinese vocabulary and phrases? LingoAce is one of the best ways to learn Chinese for kids. Our classes are tailored to meet your child’s learning needs.
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