Chinese Kinship Terms

In Chinese language, the titles for family members are more complicated than those in English. This blog will help you to learn how to address relatives in Chinese. We are trying to provide you with a comprehensive summary of Chinese kinship terms you may come across while talking with Chinese people, although you might just use some of them in your daily communication. 

Your Immediate Family 

·      Your Mom - 妈妈 (māma)

·      Your Dad - 爸爸 (bàba)

·      Your Wife - 妻子 (Qīzi) or 老婆 (lǎopó)

·      Your Husband - 丈夫 (Zhàngfū) or 老公 (lǎogōng)

·      Your older brother – 哥哥 (Gēgē)

·      Your older sister – 姐姐 (Jiějiě)

·      Your younger brother – 弟弟 (Dìdì)

·      Your younger sister – 妹妹 (Mèimei)

·      Your son – 儿子 (Érzi)

·      Your daughter - 女儿 (Nǚ'ér)

Grandparents and Great Grandparents

·      Grandmother on Dad’s side - 奶奶 (Nǎinai) 

·      Grandmother on Mom’s side -外婆 (wài pó)/姥姥 （lǎo lao）

·      Grandfather on Dad’s side – 爷爷 (Yéyé)

·      Grandfather on Mom’s side – 外公 (wàigōng)/姥爷 （lǎo ye）

·      Great-grandfather on Dad’s side –  太爷 （tài yé）

·      Great-grandmother on Dad’s side – 太太（tài tai）

·      Great-grandfather on Mom’s side -太姥爷（tài lǎo ye）

·      Great-grandparents on Mom’s side - 太姥姥（tài lǎo lao）

Grandparents' Relatives

·      the sister of your paternal grandfather
 - 姑奶奶 （gū nǎi nai）

·      the husband of the sister of your paternal grandfather
 - 姑爷 （gū yé）

·      
the oldest brother of your paternal grandfather 
 - 大爷 （dà yé）

·      the wife of the oldest brother of your paternal grandfather dad’s -
 大奶奶（dà nǎi nai）

·      the sister of your paternal grandmother 
 -  
姨奶奶（yí nǎi nai）

·      the husband of the sister of your paternal grandfather
 
 - 姨爷 （yí yé）

·      the brother of your paternal grandmother
 
 - 舅爷 （jiù yé）

·      the wife of the brother of your paternal grandmother 
 - 舅奶奶 (jiù nǎi nai）

 ------

·      the sister of your maternal grandfather
 - 姑姥姥 （gū lǎo lao）

·      the sister of your maternal grandmother
 - 姨姥姥 （yí lǎo lao）：

·      the husband of the sister of your maternal grandmother

 - 姨姥爷 （yí lǎo ye）

·      the brother of your maternal grandmother 
 - 舅姥爷（jiù lǎo ye）

·      
the wife of the brother of your maternal grandmother 
 - 舅姥姥 （jiù lǎo lao）

Your Husband's Family

·      the father of your husband 
 - 公公 （gōng gong）

·      the mother of your husband 
 - 婆婆（pó po）

·      the elder brother of your husband  
 - 大伯子（dà bǎi zi）

·      the wife of the elder brother of your husband
 
 - 大伯嫂（dà bǎi sǎo）

·      the younger brother of your husband 

 - 小叔子（xiǎo shū zi）

·      the wife of the younger brother of your husband  
 - 
小婶子（xiǎo shěn zi）

·      the husband of your elder sister
 
 - 大姑子（dà gū zi）

·      the husband of your younger sister 
 - 小姑子（xiǎo gū zi）

Your Wife's Family

·      the father of your wife  - 岳父（yuè fù）or 丈人（zhàng rén）

·      the mother of your wife  
- 岳母（yuè mǔ）or 丈母娘（zhàng mu niáng）

·      the elder brother of your wife 
 - 大舅子（dà jiù zi）

·      the wife of the elder brother of your wife  
 - 大舅嫂（dà jiù sǎo）or 大妗子（dà jìn zi）

·      the wife of your younger brother 
 - 小舅子（xiǎo jiù zi）

·      the wife of the younger brother of your wife
 - 
小妗子（xiǎo jìn zi）

·      the elder sister of your wife - 
大姨子（dà yí zi）

·      the younger sister of your wife - 小姨子（xiǎo yí zi）

Your In-Laws

"Father-In-Law" In Chinese

·      Husband's father - 公公 (gōnggong)

·      Wife's father - 岳父 (yuèfù)

"Mother-In-Law" In Chinese

·      Husband's mother - 婆婆 (pópo)

·      Wife's mother - 岳母 (yuèmǔ)

"Brother-In-Law" In Chinese

·      Your older sister’s husband - 姐夫 (Jiěfū)

·      Your younger sister’s husband - 妹夫 (Mèifū)

"Sister-In-Law" In Chinese

·      Your older brother’s wife- 嫂子 (Sǎo zi)

·      Your younger brother’s wife - 弟妇 (Dìfù)/ 弟妹 （dì mèi）

Your Father’s Side

·      the older brother of your dad  - 伯伯（bó bo）or 大爷（dà ye）

·      the wife of the older brother of your dad  - 伯母（bó mǔ） or 大娘（dà niáng）

·      the younger brother of your dad  -  
叔叔 （shū shū）

·      the wife of the younger brother of your dad 
- 婶婶（shěn shen）

·      the sister of your dad  - 姑姑（gū gu）

·      the husband of the sister of your dad - 姑父（gū fu）

Your Mother’s Side:

·      the brother of your mum
  - 舅舅 （jiù jiu）

·      the wife of the brother of your mum
 - 舅妈（jiù mā）

·      the sister of your mum 

- 姨 （yí）

·      the husband of the sister of your mum
 - 姨父（yí fu） 


·      the husband of the daughter of the sister (or brother) of your mum or of the sister of your dad, if the daughter is younger than you

 - 表妹夫（biǎo mèi fu）

·      the husband of the daughter of the sister (or brother) of your mum or of the sister of your dad, if the daughter is older than you
 - 表姐夫（biǎo jiě fu）

"Uncle" In Chinese

·      Dad’s older brother – 伯伯 (Bóbo)

·      Dad’s younger brother – 叔叔 (Shūshu)

·      Dad’s older sister’s husband - 姑夫 (Gūfū)

·      Dad’s younger sister’s husband - 姑夫 (Gūfū)

·      Mom’s older or younger brother -舅舅 (Jiùjiu)

"Aunt" In Chinese

·      Dad’s older sister – 姑妈 (Gūmā)

·      Dad’s younger sister - 姑姑 (Gūgū)

·      Dad’s older brother’s wife -伯母 (Bómǔ)

·      Dad’s younger brother’s wife -婶婶 (Shěnshěn)

·      Mom’s older sister - 姨妈 (Yímā)

·      Mom’s younger sister -阿姨 (Āyí)

·      Mom’s brother’s wife - 舅母 (Jiùmu)

"Cousin" In Chinese

·      Dad’s sibling’s son (if older than you) - 堂兄 (Táng xiōng)

·      Dad’s sibling’s son (if younger than you) - 堂弟 (Táng dì)

·      Dad’s sibling’s daughter (if older than you) - 堂姐 (Táng jiě)

·      Dad’s sibling’s daughter (if younger than you) - 堂妹 (Táng Mèi)

·      Mom’s sibling’s son (if older than you) –表哥 (Biǎo gē)

·      Mom’s sibling’s son (if younger than you) - 表弟 (Biǎo dì)

·      Mom’s sibling’s daughter (if older than you) -表姐 (Biǎo jiě)

·      Mom’s sibling’s daughter (if younger than you) -表妹 (Biǎo mèi)

"Nephew" In Chinese

·      Brother's son - 姪子 (zhízi)

·      Sister's son - 外甥 (wàishēng)

"Niece" In Chinese

·      Brother's daughter - 姪女 (zhínǚ)

·      Sister's daughter - 外甥女 (wàishengnǚ)

Q&A

Q: If Wang Peng’s mom has three younger sisters. How should he differentiate from all of them at family reunions?

A: Chinese people usually refer to the oldest as " 大姨 (dà yí)" and then refer to the second and third as "二姨 (èr yí) second aunt" and "三姨 (sān yí) third aunt" respectively.

Q: Do Chinese people use the kinship terms the same way across the country?

A: It depends on the dialect or the region in China. Some terms are slightly different. For example, when referring to maternal grandmother, people from the north prefer "姥姥 (lǎolao)" to "外婆 (wàipó)", which is usually by the southerners.

Please watch this video clip about the "complicated" Chinese kinship terms: