Chinese Family Tree

Talking about family members in Chinese is very complicated due to the Confucian emphasis on relationships and hierarchy. In this article, let’s deal with it. 

father’s father    祖父 zǔfù,爷爷 yéye
father’s mother  祖母 zǔmǔ ,奶奶 nǎinɑi
mother’s father  外祖父 wàizǔfù,外公 wàiɡōnɡ,姥爷 lǎoye
mother’s mother 外祖母 wàizǔmǔ,外婆 wàipó,姥姥 lǎolɑo
father   父亲 fùqin,爸爸 bàbɑ
mother 母亲 mǔqin,妈妈 māmɑ

father’s elder brother  伯父 bófù
father’s elder brother’s wife  伯母 bómǔ
father’s little brother  叔叔 shūshu
father’s little brother’s wife 婶婶 shěnshěn
father’s sister 姑姑 ɡūɡu,姑妈 ɡūmā
father’s sister’s husband 姑父 ɡūfu,姑丈 ɡūzhànɡ

mother’s brother 舅舅 jiùjiu
mother’s sister-in-law  舅妈 jiùmā
mother’s sister  姨妈 yímā
mother’s brother-in-law 姨丈 yízhànɡ,姨夫 yífù

elder brother 哥哥 ɡēɡē
little brother  弟弟 dìdi
elder sister  姐姐 jiějie
elder sister 妹妹 mèimei

son of father’s brother  堂兄弟 tánɡxiōnɡdì
daughter of father’s brother 堂姐妹 tánɡjiěmèi
the other cousin 表兄弟(male)biǎoxiōnɡdì,表姐妹(female) biǎojiěmèi

son 儿子 érzi
daughter 女儿 nǚér
daughter-in-law 儿媳 érxí
son-in-law 女婿 nǚxù

son of son 孙子 sūnzi
daughter of son 孙女 sūnnǚ
son of daughter 外孙 wàisūn
daughter of daughter 外孙女 wàisūnnǚ

brother’s son 侄子 zhízi
brother’s dughter 侄女 zhínǚ
sister’s son 外甥 wàishēnɡ
sister’s daughter 外甥女 wàishēnɡnǚ

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