Family Members (家庭成员 jiātíng chéngyuán)
Note on Chinese address terms: Chinese distinguishes between paternal and maternal relatives. Your father's parents are 爷爷/奶奶 (yéye/nǎinai), while your mother's parents are 外公/外婆 (wàigōng/wàipó). Siblings are also addressed differently based on relative age: 哥哥 (older brother) vs 弟弟 (younger brother).
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 爸爸 |
bàba |
father / dad |
我爸爸是老师。My dad is a teacher. |
1 |
| 妈妈 |
māma |
mother / mom |
妈妈做的饭很好吃。Mom's cooking is delicious. |
1 |
| 父母 |
fùmǔ |
parents |
我父母住在北京。My parents live in Beijing. |
3 |
| 哥哥 |
gēge |
older brother |
我哥哥比我大三岁。My older brother is 3 years older than me. |
1 |
| 姐姐 |
jiějie |
older sister |
姐姐在上海工作。My older sister works in Shanghai. |
1 |
| 弟弟 |
dìdi |
younger brother |
弟弟今年六岁。My younger brother is 6 this year. |
1 |
| 妹妹 |
mèimei |
younger sister |
妹妹喜欢唱歌。My younger sister likes to sing. |
1 |
| 儿子 |
érzi |
son |
他有一个儿子。He has one son. |
2 |
| 女儿 |
nǚ'ér |
daughter |
她的女儿很聪明。Her daughter is very smart. |
2 |
| 孩子 |
háizi |
child / children |
你有几个孩子？How many children do you have? |
1 |
| 丈夫 |
zhàngfu |
husband |
她丈夫是医生。Her husband is a doctor. |
3 |
| 妻子 |
qīzi |
wife |
他妻子在家工作。His wife works from home. |
3 |
| 老公 |
lǎogōng |
husband (colloquial) |
我老公很帅。My husband is very handsome. |
— |
| 老婆 |
lǎopó |
wife (colloquial) |
老婆，吃饭了！Honey, time to eat! |
— |
Paternal Relatives (父方亲戚 fùfāng qīnqi)
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 爷爷 |
yéye |
paternal grandfather |
爷爷每天早上打太极。Grandpa does tai chi every morning. |
2 |
| 奶奶 |
nǎinai |
paternal grandmother |
奶奶做的饺子最好吃。Grandma's dumplings are the best. |
2 |
| 祖父 |
zǔfù |
paternal grandfather (formal) |
祖父今年八十岁了。My grandfather is 80 this year. |
4 |
| 祖母 |
zǔmǔ |
paternal grandmother (formal) |
祖母身体很健康。My grandmother is in good health. |
4 |
| 叔叔 |
shūshu |
father's younger brother / uncle |
叔叔送给我一本书。My uncle gave me a book. |
3 |
| 伯伯 |
bóbo |
father's older brother |
伯伯家在广州。My uncle's family is in Guangzhou. |
— |
| 姑姑 |
gūgu |
father's sister / aunt |
姑姑明天来我们家。Auntie is coming to our house tomorrow. |
— |
| 堂哥 |
táng gē |
father's brother's son (older) |
堂哥和我一起去学校。My cousin and I go to school together. |
— |
| 堂弟 |
táng dì |
father's brother's son (younger) |
堂弟很调皮。My younger cousin is naughty. |
— |
| 侄子 |
zhízi |
nephew (brother's son) |
侄子今年三岁了。My nephew is 3 this year. |
— |
| 侄女 |
zhínǚ |
niece (brother's daughter) |
侄女很可爱。My niece is very cute. |
— |
Maternal Relatives (母方亲戚 mǔfāng qīnqi)
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 外公 |
wàigōng |
maternal grandfather |
外公喜欢钓鱼。My maternal grandpa likes fishing. |
— |
| 外婆 |
wàipó |
maternal grandmother |
外婆住在农村。My maternal grandma lives in the countryside. |
— |
| 姥爷 |
lǎoye |
maternal grandfather (N. China) |
姥爷讲故事给我听。Grandpa tells me stories. |
— |
| 姥姥 |
lǎolao |
maternal grandmother (N. China) |
姥姥每天接我放学。Grandma picks me up from school every day. |
— |
| 舅舅 |
jiùjiu |
mother's brother / uncle |
舅舅在美国工作。My uncle works in the US. |
— |
| 阿姨 |
āyí |
mother's sister / aunt; also "auntie" |
阿姨送给我礼物。Auntie gave me a gift. |
2 |
| 表哥 |
biǎogē |
maternal cousin (older male) |
表哥考上了北京大学。My cousin got into Peking University. |
— |
| 表姐 |
biǎojiě |
maternal cousin (older female) |
表姐结婚了。My older female cousin got married. |
— |
| 表弟 |
biǎodì |
maternal cousin (younger male) |
表弟在读高中。My younger cousin is in high school. |
— |
| 表妹 |
biǎomèi |
maternal cousin (younger female) |
表妹非常聪明。My younger female cousin is very smart. |
— |
| 外甥 |
wàishenɡ |
nephew (sister's son) |
外甥长得像他爸爸。My nephew looks like his father. |
— |
| 外甥女 |
wàishengnǚ |
niece (sister's daughter) |
外甥女很喜欢画画。My niece loves drawing. |
— |
Grandchildren & Extended
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 孙子 |
sūnzi |
grandson (son's son) |
爷爷很疼孙子。Grandpa dotes on his grandson. |
4 |
| 孙女 |
sūnnǚ |
granddaughter (son's daughter) |
孙女每周末来看我们。Our granddaughter visits us every weekend. |
— |
| 外孙 |
wàisūn |
grandson (daughter's son) |
外孙很活泼。My daughter's son is very lively. |
— |
| 外孙女 |
wàisūnnǚ |
granddaughter (daughter's daughter) |
外孙女和奶奶很亲。My granddaughter is very close to grandma. |
— |
| 亲戚 |
qīnqi |
relatives |
过年的时候，亲戚都来了。During New Year, all the relatives came. |
4 |
Social Relationships (社会关系 shèhuì guānxi)
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 朋友 |
péngyou |
friend |
他是我最好的朋友。He is my best friend. |
1 |
| 好朋友 |
hǎo péngyou |
good friend / best friend |
我们是好朋友。We are good friends. |
1 |
| 同学 |
tóngxué |
classmate / schoolmate |
这是我的同学王红。This is my classmate Wang Hong. |
1 |
| 同事 |
tóngshì |
colleague / coworker |
我和同事一起去吃午饭。I have lunch with my colleagues. |
3 |
| 邻居 |
línjū |
neighbor |
我们的邻居很友好。Our neighbors are very friendly. |
3 |
| 男朋友 |
nánpéngyou |
boyfriend |
她男朋友很高。Her boyfriend is very tall. |
2 |
| 女朋友 |
nǚpéngyou |
girlfriend |
他有女朋友了！He has a girlfriend now! |
2 |
| 老板 |
lǎobǎn |
boss |
老板对我们很好。The boss is very good to us. |
3 |
| 上司 |
shàngsī |
superior / supervisor |
我上司批准了我的假期。My supervisor approved my leave. |
— |
| 下属 |
xiàshǔ |
subordinate |
他有五个下属。He has five subordinates. |
— |
| 陌生人 |
mòshēngrén |
stranger |
不要和陌生人说话。Don't talk to strangers. |
— |
Relationship Events (关系事件 guānxi shìjiàn)
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 结婚 |
jiéhūn |
to get married |
他们去年结婚了。They got married last year. |
3 |
| 离婚 |
líhūn |
to get divorced |
他们离婚了。They got divorced. |
4 |
| 订婚 |
dìnghūn |
to get engaged |
他们刚订婚。They just got engaged. |
— |
| 恋爱 |
liàn'ài |
to be in a romantic relationship |
他们在谈恋爱。They are dating. |
4 |
| 分手 |
fēnshǒu |
to break up |
他们分手了。They broke up. |
— |
Family & Home (家庭与家 jiātíng yǔ jiā)
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
Example Sentence |
HSK |
| 家 |
jiā |
home / family / house |
我回家了。I'm home. |
1 |
| 家庭 |
jiātíng |
family (as a unit) |
我的家庭有四口人。My family has four people. |
2 |
| 家人 |
jiārén |
family members |
我很想家人。I miss my family. |
3 |
| 家乡 |
jiāxiāng |
hometown |
我的家乡在四川。My hometown is in Sichuan. |
4 |
| 父亲 |
fùqīn |
father (formal) |
父亲节快乐！Happy Father's Day! |
3 |
| 母亲 |
mǔqīn |
mother (formal) |
母亲节快乐！Happy Mother's Day! |
3 |
| 兄弟 |
xiōngdì |
brothers / siblings (male) |
我们是兄弟！We are brothers! |
4 |
| 姐妹 |
jiěmèi |
sisters / female siblings |
她们是姐妹。They are sisters. |
4 |
| 独生子女 |
dúshēng zǐnǚ |
only child |
他是独生子女。He is an only child. |
— |
Key Grammar Notes
Expressing possession: Use 的 (de) between pronoun and family term:
- 我的爸爸 (wǒ de bàba) — my father
- 他的妻子 (tā de qīzi) — his wife
Counting family members: Use 口 (kǒu) as measure word:
- 我家有三口人。(Wǒ jiā yǒu sān kǒu rén.) — My family has three people.
Addressing vs. referring: In Chinese, you call your father 爸爸 to his face but may say 我爸 (wǒ bà) when referring to him in conversation.
Paternal vs. Maternal distinction:
| Relative |
Paternal Side |
Maternal Side |
| Grandfather |
爷爷 yéye |
外公 wàigōng / 姥爷 lǎoye |
| Grandmother |
奶奶 nǎinai |
外婆 wàipó / 姥姥 lǎolao |
| Uncle |
叔叔 shūshu / 伯伯 bóbo |
舅舅 jiùjiu |
| Aunt |
姑姑 gūgu |
阿姨 āyí |
| Cousin |
堂哥/堂弟/堂姐/堂妹 |
表哥/表弟/表姐/表妹 |