How to Address Your Family Members in Chinese?

Family plays an important role in every culture, and it is a topic you will certainly cover when learning any new language. As you might guess, there are many terms used to describe relationships in a Chinese family, which can be quite confusing because terms differ depending on the side of the family.

So how do you refer to your family members in Chinese, and how can you introduce them to others? Let’s find out! First, we need to learn what to call each family member.

Grandparents’ Generation
Relationship	Chinese	Pinyin	Recording
Father’s father	爷爷	yéye
Father’s mother	奶奶	nǎinai
Mother’s father	外公	wàigōng
Mother’s mother	外婆	wàipó

Parents’ Generation
Relationship	Chinese	Pinyin	Recording
Father	爸爸	bàba
Father’s elder brother	伯伯	bóbo
Father’s younger brother	叔叔	shūshu
Father’s (elder/younger) sister	姑姑	gūgu
Mother	妈妈	māma
Mother’s (elder/younger) brother	舅舅	jiùjiu
Mother’s (elder/younger) sister	姨妈	yímā

Your Generation
Relationship	Chinese	Pinyin	Recording
Elder brother	哥哥	gēge
Younger brother	弟弟	dìdi
Elder sister	姐姐	jiějie
Younger sister	妹妹	mèimei

Children’s Generation
Relationship	Chinese	Pinyin	Recording
Son	儿子	érzi
Son’s wife	媳妇	xífù
Daughter	女儿	nǚ’ér
Daughter’s husband	女婿	nǚxù

Grandchildren’s Generation
Relationship	Chinese	Pinyin	Recording
Grandson	孙子	sūnzi
Grandson’s wife	孙媳妇	sūnxífù
Granddaughter	孙女	sūnnǚ
Granddaughter’s husband	孙女婿	sūnnǚxù

(Learn how to call your family members in Chinese through: The Family Song家族歌 (Jiāzú gē))

The next step is to learn how to use the words we have just learned in the following simple sentence structures:

Zhè shì wǒ(de) ….
1. 这是我(的) ……。
This is my ….

Tā/tā shì wǒ(de) ….
2. 他/她是我(的) ……。
He/She is my ….

Wǒ yǒu … gè ….
3. 我有 ……个……。
I have ……. Wǒ(de) … shì ….

Wǒ(de) … shì ….
4. 我(的) …… 是 ……。
My … is a ….

Examples:

Zhè shì wǒde māma.
这是我的妈妈。
This is my mom.

Tā shì wǒde gēge.
他是我的哥哥。
He is my elder brother.

Wǒ yǒu liǎnggè nǚ’ér.
我有两个女儿。
I have two daughters.

Wǒ érzi shì yīsheng.
我儿子是医生。
My son is a doctor.

Learn How to Introduce Your Family Members.

Quiz:

1. What should you call your father’s sister in Chinese?

A. “姑姑 (gūgu)”
B. “奶奶 (nǎinai)”
C. “媳妇 (xífù)”

2. If you want to tell others you have a younger brother in Chinese, you should say _____.

A. “他是我的弟弟。(Tā shì wǒde dìdi.)”
B. “这是我的弟弟。(Zhè shì wǒde dìdi.)”
C. “我有一个弟弟。(Wǒ yǒu yígè dìdi.)”

See Answer Analysis

Want to Learn More about How to Say Family Members in Chinese?
Family Vocabulary in Chinese
Chinese Quiz: How to Address Your Family
Learn How to Introduce Your Family Members in Chinese