Chinese Family & Kinship Terms — 爸爸, 妈妈, and Relatives for Self-Introductions

Dad is 爸爸 (bà ba) and mom is 妈妈 (mā ma). More formal terms are 父亲 (fù qīn) for father and 母亲 (mǔ qīn) for mother. Older brother is 哥哥 (gē ge), older sister is 姐姐 (jiě jie), younger brother is 弟弟 (dì di), and younger sister is 妹妹 (mèi mei).

Chinese distinguishes older from younger siblings, so there is no single word for just "brother" or "sister". To ask about siblings, say 你有兄弟姐妹吗 (nǐ yǒu xiōng dì jiě mèi ma) — do you have siblings? Say 我有一个哥哥和一个妹妹 (wǒ yǒu yī ge gē ge hé yī ge mèi mei) — I have an older brother and a younger sister.

Children are 孩子 (hái zi); a son is 儿子 (ér zi) and a daughter is 女儿 (nǚ ér). Ask 你有几个孩子 (nǐ yǒu jǐ ge hái zi) — how many children do you have?

Chinese carefully separates the parents of the father from the parents of the mother. Paternal grandfather is 爷爷 (yé ye) and paternal grandmother is 奶奶 (nǎi nai). Maternal grandfather is 外公 (wài gōng) and maternal grandmother is 外婆 (wài pó).

The 外 (wài) in 外公 and 外婆 means "outside", reflecting the traditional view that the family of the mother is the outer branch of the family. In the north, 姥姥 (lǎo lao) is a common alternative for maternal grandmother.

To introduce them, say 这是我的爷爷 (zhè shì wǒ de yé ye) — this is my paternal grandfather. Ask 你奶奶身体好吗 (nǐ nǎi nai shēn tǐ hǎo ma) — is your grandmother in good health?

Terms for uncles and aunts are very precise. 叔叔 (shū shu) is the younger brother of the father, 伯父 (bó fù) is the older brother of the father, and 姑姑 (gū gu) is a sister of the father. On the maternal side, 舅舅 (jiù jiu) is a brother of the mother and 姨妈 (yí mā) is a sister of the mother.

In daily life, 叔叔 (shū shu) is also a polite term for any middle-aged man and 阿姨 (ā yí) for any middle-aged woman, even strangers — so you can call the wife of a shopkeeper 阿姨 as a sign of respect.

Cousins distinguish paternal from maternal: 堂哥/堂姐 (táng gē / táng jiě) are cousins on the paternal side (same surname), while 表哥/表姐 (biǎo gē / biǎo jiě) are cousins on the maternal side. Say 这是我表哥 (zhè shì wǒ biǎo gē) — this is my cousin on the maternal side.

Husband is 丈夫 (zhàng fu), and wife is 妻子 (qī zi). Colloquially, 老公 (lǎo gōng) means husband and 老婆 (lǎo po) means wife. Boyfriend is 男朋友 (nán péng you) and girlfriend is 女朋友 (nǚ péng you).

In-laws also follow strict terminology. A wife calls the parents of her husband 公公 (gōng gong) and 婆婆 (pó po). A husband calls the parents of his wife 岳父 (yuè fù) and 岳母 (yuè mǔ).

To introduce your spouse, say 这是我老公 (zhè shì wǒ lǎo gōng) — this is my husband, or 这是我太太 (zhè shì wǒ tài tai) — this is my wife. Ask whether someone is married with 你结婚了吗 (nǐ jié hūn le ma) — are you married?

To introduce family members, use the pattern 这是... (zhè shì...) — this is..., followed by the kinship term and name. Say 这是我妈妈，她姓李 (zhè shì wǒ mā ma, tā xìng lǐ) — this is my mom, her surname is Li.

Generation or seniority in the family is 辈分 (bèi fen). It decides the correct term of address even for non-relatives. Older people are addressed as 爷爷/奶奶 or 叔叔/阿姨, and a respectful form of "you" is 您 (nín).

When introducing yourself to a Chinese family, say 我来自美国 (wǒ lái zì měi guó) — I come from the USA, or 我是...的朋友 (wǒ shì ... de péng you) — I am a friend of .... Ask 您贵姓 (nín guì xìng) — what is your honorable surname?