How do say family members in Chinese

Introduction

Before we discuss all the titles of Chinese family members, we need to know that the Chinese people extremely value family and everything about family. They think that everyone belongs to his or her family. Family is a safe haven for everyone. Chinese people’s deep-rooted idea about family is the key reason why the structure of the title about Chinese family members is much more complicated than that of English-speaking countries.

For example, in the English world, the word “brother” means the elder or younger brother, it doesn’t distinguish between elder or younger brothers. But in China, there a word for each of the brothers, “哥哥” for the elder and “弟弟” for the younger. “哥哥” often shoulders more responsibilities in the house than the “弟弟”. In feudal times, only the eldest son (长子) is eligible to inherit the family property.

Key Characters in the Titles of Chinese Family Members

Male 男: 

ɡōnɡ fù yé  bà bó  shū  jiù  fù  ɡē   dì    xionɡ   zǐ

公      父 爷 爸  伯    叔   舅   父  哥   弟      兄     子

Female 女: 

pó  lǎo  nǎi  mā mǔ   shěn  niánɡ   ɡū   jiě   mèi   zǐ   nǚ 

婆   姥    奶   妈  母      婶       娘         姑    姐    妹    姊   女

Have you noticed that many of the words that are related to women have the Chinese character component (女)?

堂, 表, 外 (TÁNG, BIǍO, WÀI)

The prefix characters “堂,” “表,” and “外” are added before certain titles to indicate whether a relative belongs to one’s father’s side or mother’s side. For example, if your uncle has a son who is older than you, you should call his son “堂兄” or “内表哥”; if he is younger than you, you should call him “堂弟” or “内表弟.” Similarly, if your mother’s siblings have a daughter who is old than you, you should call her “表姐” or “外表姐.”

"堂" refers to a "hall," where ancient Chinese people often held important events in the. It conveys a formal, solemn and official air. "外" means outside, which implies that the mother's relatives are not as important for this family as are father's relatives. "内表" and "外表" are used to refer to father's and mother's relatives respectively. However, "内" implies a closer relationship than "外".

Proverb：

A married daughter is just like water that has been poured.

(she doesn’t belong to her parents anymore.)

嫁出去的女儿，泼出去的水。

(jià chū qu de nǚ ér, pō chū qu de shuǐ.)

Immediate Family Members

男 爸爸（bà ba）: father; 父亲（fù qin）is the formal way to say 爸爸（bà ba）.

女 妈妈（mā ma）: mum; 母亲（mǔ qīn）is the formal way to say 妈妈（mā ma）.

男 爷爷（yé ye）: the father of your father (your paternal grandfather);

女 奶奶 （nǎi nai）: the mum of your father (your paternal grandmother);

男 哥哥 （gē ge）: older brother

男 弟弟 （dì di）：younger brother

女 姐姐 （jiě jie）：older sister

女 妹妹 （mèi mei）: younger sister

Grandparents and Great Grandparents

男 姥爷 （lǎo ye）: the mum of your father (your paternal grandmother);

女 姥姥 （lǎo lao）: the mum of your mum (your maternal grandmother);

男 太爷 （tài yé）: the father of your paternal grandfather or grandmother (your paternal great-grandfather)

女 太太（tài tai）：the mum of your paternal grandfather or grandmother (your paternal great-grandmother)

男 太姥爷（tài lǎo ye）：the father of your maternal grandfather or grandmother (your maternal great-grandfather)

女 太姥姥（tài lǎo lao）：the mum of your maternal grandfather or grandmother (your maternal great-grandmother)

Paternal Grandparents’ Relatives

女 姑奶奶 (gū nǎi nai): the sister of your paternal grandfather

男 姑爷 (gū yé): the husband of the sister of your paternal grandfather

男 大爷 (dà yé): the oldest brother of your paternal grandfather

女 大奶奶 (dà nǎi nai): the wife of the oldest brother of your paternal grandfather father's.

The younger brother of "大爷" is called "二爷" (èr yé), and his wife is called "二奶奶" (èr nǎi nai), and so forth.

男 姨爷 (yí yé): the husband of the sister of your paternal grandfather

女 姨奶奶 (yí nǎi nai): the sister of your paternal grandmother

男 舅爷 (jiù yé): the brother of your paternal grandmother

女 舅奶奶 (jiù nǎi nai): the wife of the brother of your paternal grandmother

Maternal Grandparents’ Relatives

男 姑姥爷 (gū lǎo ye): the husband of the sister of your maternal grandfather

女 姑姥姥 (gū lǎo lao): the sister of your maternal grandfather

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

男 姨姥爷 (yí lǎo ye): the husband of the sister of your maternal grandmother

男 舅姥爷(jiù lǎo ye)：the brother of your maternal grandmother

女 舅姥姥 (jiù lǎo lao): the wife of the brother of your maternal grandmother

Your Father's Side

男 伯伯 (bó bo) or 大爷 (dà ye): the older brother of your father

女 伯母 (bó mǔ) or 大娘 (dà niáng): the wife of the older brother of your father

男 叔叔 (shū shū): the younger brother of your father

女 婶婶 (shěn shen): the wife of the younger brother of your father

女 姑姑 (gū gu): the sister of your father

男 姑父 (gū fu): the husband of the sister of your father

Your Mother's Side

男 舅舅 (jiù jiu): the brother of your mum

女 舅妈 (jiù mā): the wife of the brother of your mum

女 姨妈 (yí mā): the sister of your mum

男 姨父 (yí fu): the husband of the sister of your mum

男 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 father, if the daughter is younger than you

男 表姐夫 (biǎo jiě fu): the husband of the daughter of the sister (or brother) of your mum or of the sister of your father, if the daughter is older than you

Cousins

男 堂兄 (táng xiōng): the son of the brother of your father, who is older than you

男 堂弟 (táng dì): the son of the brother of your father, who is younger than you

女 堂姐 (táng jiě): the daughter of the brother of your father, who is older than you

女 堂妹 (táng mèi): the daughter of the brother of your father, who is younger than you

男 表哥 (biǎo gē): the son of the sister of your father, or the son of the brother (or sister) of your mum, who is older than you

男 表弟 (biǎo dì): the son of the sister of your father or the son of the brother (or sister) of your mum, who is younger than you

女 表姐 (biǎo jiě): the daughter of the sister of your father, or the daughter of the brother (or sister) of your mum, who is older than you

女 表妹 (biǎo mèi): the daughter of their sister of your father, or the daughter of the brother (or sister) of your mum, who is younger than you 

女 表嫂 (biǎo sǎo): the wife of the son of the sister of your father or the wife of the brother (or sister) of your mum

In-laws

女 嫂子 (sǎo zi): the wife of your older brother

女 弟妹 (dì mèi): the wife of your younger brother

男 姐夫 (jiě fu): the husband of your older sister

男 妹夫 (mèi fu): the husband of your younger sister

Nephews and Nieces

男 侄子 (zhí zǐ): the son of your brother

女 侄女 (zhí nǚ): the daughter of your brother

男 外甥 (wài shēng): the son of your sister

女 外甥女 (wài sheng nǚ): the daughter of your sister

Your Husband’s Family

男 公公 (gōng gong): the father of your husband

女 婆婆 (pó po): the mother of your husband

男 大伯子 (dà bǎi zi): the elder brother of your husband

女 大伯嫂 (dà bǎi sǎo): the wife of the elder brother of your husband

男 小叔子 (xiǎo shū zi): the younger brother of your husband

女 小婶子 (xiǎo shěn zi): the wife of the younger brother of your husband

男 大姑子 (dà gū zi): the husband of your elder sister

女 小姑子 (xiǎo gū zi): the husband of your younger sister

Your Wife’s Family

男 岳父 (yuè fù) or 丈人 (zhàng rén): the father of your wife

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

男 大舅子 (dà jiù zi): the elder brother of your wife

女 大舅嫂 (dà jiù sǎo): the wife of the elder brother of your wife

男 小舅子 (xiǎo jiù zi): the wife of your younger brother

女 小妗子 (xiǎo jìn zi): the wife of the younger brother of your wife

女 大姨子 (dà yí zi): the elder sister of your wife

女 小姨子 (xiǎo yí zi): the younger sister of your wife