Family and Relationships in Chinese
In Chinese, understanding how to talk about family members and relationships is important for daily conversation. In this article, we will explore common family terms and phrases, as well as ways to express relationships in Chinese.
Nuclear Family - 核心家庭
General - 泛指
| Family Member | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin |
| Parents | 父母 | 父母 | fù mǔ | ㄈㄨˋ ㄇㄨˇ |
| Child / Children | 孩子 | 孩子 | hái zi | ㄏㄞˊ ㄗ˙ |
| Siblings | 兄弟姐妹 | 兄弟姐妹 | xiōng dì jiě mèi | ㄒㄩㄥ ㄉㄧˋ ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄇㄟˋ |
Gender-Specific - 性別特定
| Family Member | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin |
| Father | 爸爸 | 爸爸 | bà ba | ㄅㄚˋ ㄅㄚ |
| Mother | 妈妈 | 媽媽 | mā ma | ㄇㄚ ㄇㄚ |
| Son | 儿子 | 兒子 | ér zi | ㄦˊ ㄗ˙ |
| Daughter | 女儿 | 女兒 | nǚ ér | ㄋㄩˇ ㄦˊ |
| Brothers | 兄弟 | 兄弟 | xiōng dì | ㄒㄩㄥ ㄉㄧˋ |
| Sisters | 姐妹 | 姐妹 | jiě mèi | ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄇㄟˋ |
| Older Brother | 哥哥 | 哥哥 | gē ge | ㄍㄜ ㄍㄜ |
| Younger Brother | 弟弟 | 弟弟 | dì di | ㄉㄧˋ ㄉㄧ |
| Older Sister | 姐姐 | 姐姐 | jiě jie | ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄐㄧㄝ |
| Younger Sister | 妹妹 | 妹妹 | mèi mei | ㄇㄟˋ ㄇㄟ |
Extended Family - 大家庭
The Chinese word for "extended family" is 大家庭 (dà jiā tíng), which simply translates to "big family".
Paternal - 父系
| Family Member | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin | Colloquial |
| Paternal Grandfather | 祖父 | 祖父 | zǔ fù | ㄗㄨˇ ㄈㄨˋ | 阿公 |
| Paternal Grandmother | 祖母 | 祖母 | zǔ mǔ | ㄗㄨˇ ㄇㄨˇ | 阿嬤 |
| Paternal Uncle (his brother) | 叔叔 | 叔叔 | shū shu | ㄕㄨ ㄕㄨ | 阿叔 |
| Older Paternal Uncle | 伯伯 | 伯伯 | bó bo | ㄅㄛˊ ㄅㄛ | 伯伯 |
| Paternal Aunt (his sister) | 姑姑 | 姑姑 | gū gu | ㄍㄨ ㄍㄨ | 阿姑 |
| Paternal Aunt (wife of uncle) | 婶婶 | 嬸嬸 | shěn shen | ㄕㄣˇ ㄕㄣ | 阿嬸 |
| Male Paternal Cousin | 堂兄 | 堂兄 | táng xiōng | ㄊㄤˊ ㄒㄧㄥ | 堂兄 |
| Older Male Paternal Cousin | 堂哥 | 堂哥 | táng gē | ㄊㄤˊ ㄍㄜ | 堂哥 |
| Younger Male Paternal Cousin | 堂弟 | 堂弟 | táng dì | ㄊㄤˊ ㄉㄧˋ | 堂弟 |
| Female Paternal Cousin | 堂姐 | 堂姐 | táng jiě | ㄊㄤˊ ㄐㄧㄝˇ | 堂姐 |
| Younger Female Paternal Cousin | 堂妹 | 堂妹 | táng mèi | ㄊㄤˊ ㄇㄟˋ | 堂妹 |
叔叔 (shū shu) is the default term for paternal uncle when the age difference is unknown. 伯伯 (bó bo) is used specifically for the older brothers of your father.
Maternal - 母系
| Family Member | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin | Colloquial |
| Maternal Grandfather | 外祖父 | 外祖父 | wài zǔ fù | ㄨㄞˋ ㄗㄨˇ ㄈㄨˋ | 外公 |
| Maternal Grandmother | 外祖母 | 外祖母 | wài zǔ mǔ | ㄨㄞˋ ㄗㄨˇ ㄇㄨˇ | 外婆 |
| Maternal Uncle (her brother) | 舅舅 | 舅舅 | jiù jiu | ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄐㄧㄡ˙ | 舅舅 |
| Maternal Aunt (her sister) | 姨妈 | 姨媽 | yí mā | ㄧˊ ㄇㄚ | 姨媽 |
| Maternal Aunt (wife of uncle) | 舅妈 | 舅媽 | jiù mā | ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄇㄚ | 舅媽 |
| Older Male Maternal Cousin | 表哥 | 表哥 | biǎo gē | ㄅㄧㄠˇ ㄍㄜ | 表哥 |
| Younger Male Maternal Cousin | 表弟 | 表弟 | biǎo dì | ㄅㄧㄠˇ ㄉㄧˋ | 表弟 |
| Older Female Maternal Cousin | 表姐 | 表姐 | biǎo jiě | ㄅㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ | 表姐 |
| Younger Female Maternal Cousin | 表妹 | 表妹 | biǎo mèi | ㄅㄧㄠˇ ㄇㄟˋ | 表妹 |
表哥 (biǎo gē) is used as the default term for any male cousin on the maternal side, regardless of age. If you know the cousin is younger, you would use 表弟 (biǎo dì).
Brother-Side - 兄家 / 弟家
| Family Member | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin |
| Brother's Wife | 嫂子 | 嫂子 | sǎo zi | ㄙㄠˇ ㄗ˙ |
| Nephew | 侄子 | 侄子 | zhí zi | ㄓˊ ㄗ˙ |
| Niece | 侄女 | 侄女 | zhí nǚ | ㄓˊ ㄋㄩˇ |
Sister-Side - 姐家 / 妹家
| Family Member | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin |
| Sister's Husband | 姐夫 | 姐夫 | jiě fu | ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄈㄨ |
| Nephew | 外甥 | 外甥 | wài shēng | ㄨㄞˋ ㄕㄥ |
| Niece | 外甥女 | 外甥女 | wài shēng nǚ | ㄨㄞˋ ㄕㄥ ㄋㄩˇ |
Civil Status - 婚姻狀況
Single Status - 單生狀態
| Marriage Status | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin |
| Single | 单身 | 單身 | dān shēn | ㄉㄢ ㄕㄣ |
| Widowed | 寡妇 | 寡婦 | guǎ fù | ㄍㄨㄚˇ ㄈㄨˋ |
| Widowed Man | 鳏夫 | 鰥夫 | guān fū | ㄍㄨㄢ ㄈㄨ |
| Divorced | 离婚 | 離婚 | lí hūn | ㄌㄧˊ ㄏㄨㄣ |
| Divorced Man | 离婚男子 | 離婚男子 | lí hūn nánzǐ | ㄌㄧˊ ㄏㄨㄣ ㄋㄢˊ ㄗˇ |
| Divorced Woman | 离婚妇女 | 離婚婦女 | lí hūn fùnǚ | ㄌㄧˊ ㄏㄨㄣ ㄈㄨˋ ㄋㄩˇ |
| Separated | 分居 | 分居 | fēn jū | ㄈㄣ ㄐㄩ |
Partner Status - 伴侶狀態
| Marriage Status | Simp | Trad | Pinyin | Zhuyin |
| Married | 已婚 | 已婚 | yǐ hūn | ㄧˇ ㄏㄨㄣ |
| Long-Term Partner | 长期伴侣 | 長期伴侶 | cháng qī bàn lǚ | ㄔㄤˊ ㄑㄧ ㄅㄢˋ ㄌㄩˇ |
| Civil Union | 民事结合 | 民事結合 | mín shì jié hé | ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄕˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄏㄜˊ |
| Cohabitating | 同居 | 同居 | tóng jū | ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄐㄩ |
| Friends with Benefits | 炮友 | 炮友 | pào yǒu | ㄆㄠˋ ㄧㄡˇ |
| Boyfriend | 男朋友 | 男朋友 | nán péng yǒu | ㄋㄢˊ ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡˇ |
| Girlfriend | 女朋友 | 女朋友 | nǚ péng yǒu | ㄋㄩˇ ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡˇ |
| Husband | 老公 | 老公 | lǎo gōng | ㄌㄠˇ ㄍㄨㄥ |
| Wife | 妻子 | 妻子 | qī zi | ㄑㄧ ㄗ˙ |
| Romantic Partner | 恋人 | 戀人 | liàn rén | ㄌㄧㄢˋ ㄖㄣˊ |
| Dating Couples | 情侣 | 情侶 | qíng lǚ | ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄩˇ |
| Couple (husband and wife) | 夫妻 | 夫妻 | fū qī | ㄈㄨ ㄑㄧ |
| Lovers | 爱侣 | 愛侶 | ài lǚ | ㄞˋ ㄌㄩˇ |
| Spouse | 爱人 | 愛人 | ài rén | ㄞˋ ㄖㄣˊ |