In Chinese, the way of naming family members is a bit peculiar. Each person has a different name depending on their position in the family tree. That is, you will not call your grandmother on the mother's side in the same way as your grandmother on the paternal side. To differentiate uncles in China, we will not say "uncle Xu" and "uncle Ming". Each will have its own name.

Besides, even the Chinese have difficulties with nomenclature! There are even apps to automatically find a family member's name in the Chinese nomenclature. But don't worry: learn this vocabulary little by little and everything will be fine!

Mother: 母亲 (mǔ qīn)

Mom: 妈妈 (mā ma)

father: 父亲 (fù qin)

Dad: 爸爸 (ba)

little brother :弟弟 (dì di)

big brother :哥哥 (gēge)

little sister :妹妹 (mèimei)

big sister :姐姐 (jiějie)

children: 孩子们 (háizimen)

son: 儿子 (ér zi)

Daughter: 女儿 (nǚ ér)

husband: 丈夫 (zhàngfū)

wife: 妻子(qī zi)

The recomposed family

mother-in-law : 继母 (jìmǔ)

father-in-law : 继父 (jìfù)

brother-in-law :继兄弟 (jì xiōngdì)

sister-in-law :继姐妹 (Jì jiěmèi)

Grandparents

grandparents: 祖父母 (Zǔ fùmǔ)

paternal grandfather : 爷爷 (yé ye)

paternal grandmother :奶奶 (naǐ nai)

maternal grandfather :外公 (waì gōng)

maternal grandmother :外婆 (waì pó)

Uncles and aunts

aunt (on the mother's side): 阿姨 (ā yí)

aunt (on the father's side): 姑姑 (gū gu)

uncle (father's younger brother ): 叔叔 (shū shu)

uncle (the father's older brother):伯伯 (bó bo)

uncle (mother's brothers): 舅舅 (jìu jiu)

Cousins

a younger cousin on the mother's side: 表妹 (biǎo mèi)

an older cousin on the mother's side: 表姐 (biǎo jiě)

a younger cousin on the mother's side: 表弟 (biǎo dì)

an older cousin on the mother's side: 表哥 (biǎo gē)

an older cousin on the father's side: 堂姐 (táng jiě)

a younger cousin on the father's side: 堂妹 (táng mèi)

an older cousin on the father's side: 堂哥 (táng gē)

a younger cousin on the father's side: 堂弟 (tāng dì)

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