Chinese Family Terms: Read the Family Tree from Your Point of View

Chinese kinship terms often encode information that English leaves unstated: your mother’s or father’s side, whether a sibling is older or younger, and sometimes whether the relationship is through marriage. The starting point is always the person speaking. Draw the path from “me” to the relative before selecting the term.

Start with siblings and grandparents

哥哥 is your older brother; 弟弟 is your younger brother. 姐姐 is your older sister; 妹妹 is your younger sister. English “my sister” does not specify which one, so a translator may need more information.

爷爷 and 奶奶 commonly refer to paternal grandparents. 外公 and 外婆 commonly refer to maternal grandparents; 姥爷 and 姥姥 are also widespread, especially in northern usage. Household and regional preferences vary, so the word your family uses may differ from a textbook’s first choice.

For a neutral description where the precise family label is not needed, 父母 means parents and 祖父母 means grandparents, commonly on the paternal side in precise kinship usage. Do not substitute a collective term when the task is to identify one particular relative.

Trace one branch at a time

Your father’s older brother is 伯伯; his younger brother is 叔叔. Your father’s sister is 姑姑. Your mother’s brother is 舅舅, and your mother’s sister is 姨妈 or 阿姨 in many families. Terms for their spouses introduce another layer, so learn the relationships you actually need first.

A practical family-tree exercise is to write 爸爸 → 哥哥 and then label that person 伯伯. Next write 妈妈 → 弟弟 and label him 舅舅. This is more reliable than memorizing an English list where every item is simply “uncle.”

我妈妈的哥哥是我的舅舅。

Wǒ mā ma de gē ge shì wǒ de jiù jiu.

My mother’s older brother is my maternal uncle.

她是我爸爸的妹妹，我叫她姑姑。

Tā shì wǒ bà ba de mèi mei, wǒ jiào tā gū gu.

She is my father’s younger sister. I call her aunt.

Cousins and extended address

堂 siblings generally come through your father’s brothers: 堂哥, 堂弟, 堂姐, 堂妹. 表 siblings cover other cousin branches, such as your mother’s siblings’ children or your father’s sisters’ children. The final sibling word marks the cousin’s gender and age relative to you.

A mother’s sister’s daughter who is older than you is therefore 表姐. A father’s brother’s son who is younger than you is 堂弟. If you have not established age, say the relationship in a full phrase rather than guessing.

阿姨, 叔叔, 哥 and 姐 can also address people who are not relatives. A child saying 阿姨 to a family friend does not add a new biological aunt to the family tree. Distinguish social address from genealogical description.

Vocabulary to keep

Words and expressions in this article. Open a word in the dictionary to explore its readings and meanings.

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning in this lesson
哥哥	gē ge	older brother
弟弟	dì di	younger brother
姐姐	jiě jie	older sister
妹妹	mèi mei	younger sister
爷爷	yé ye	paternal grandfather
奶奶	nǎi nai	paternal grandmother
外公	wài gōng	maternal grandfather
外婆	wài pó	maternal grandmother
伯伯	bó bo	father's older brother
叔叔	shū shu	father's younger brother
姑姑	gū gu	father's sister
舅舅	jiù jiu	mother's brother
表姐	biǎo jiě	older female cousin outside the paternal-uncles branch
堂弟	táng dì	younger male cousin through father's brother

How to use these words

舅舅

舅舅 identifies your mother’s brother. English “uncle” does not tell you that branch, so translating back from English requires more information. Contrast it with 叔叔, your father’s younger brother, and 伯伯, your father’s older brother. These distinctions concern the relationship to you; a friend calling someone 叔叔 socially is not claiming that exact family connection.

我舅舅是我妈妈的弟弟。

Wǒ jiù jiu shì wǒ mā ma de dì di.

My uncle is my mother’s younger brother.

A family description lets you verify the branch rather than guess from an English label.

表姐

表姐 names an older female cousin from a branch normally classified as 表 rather than 堂. 堂 commonly covers the children of your father’s brothers; 表 covers other cousin branches, including your mother’s siblings and your father’s sisters. Then 姐 tells you that this female cousin is older than you. Regional and family usage can vary, so check the relationship rather than memorizing “cousin” as one word.

我表姐比我大两岁。

Wǒ biǎo jiě bǐ wǒ dà liǎng suì.

My female cousin is two years older than me.

The sentence confirms relative age; the family branch must still come from context.

Check your understanding

Choose an answer or say your own response before opening the explanation.

Your mother’s younger brother visits. Does his being younger than your mother make him 叔叔 to you?

Show answer and explanation

No. The maternal branch makes him 舅舅. 叔叔 is your father’s younger brother in precise kinship usage.

Your father’s older brother has a son who is younger than you. Which cousin term fits?

Show answer and explanation

堂弟. The paternal-uncle branch gives 堂, and the cousin is a younger male relative, giving 弟.

Common questions

Can jiejie address someone who is not my sister?

Yes, 姐姐 can be a familiar address outside literal kinship. Its suitability depends on age, closeness and setting. Recognize that social use separately from the family relationship taught in a vocabulary chart.

How should I learn a large family tree?

Start with your own immediate family and one branch at a time. Say the relationship in a short sentence, then replace one relative. This tests whether you understand the route through the family rather than merely recognize a translated label.

Keep learning

Write tone marks with the pinyin tool.

References and further reading

Family-tree vocabulary reference

Examples and practice in this lesson are original. Usage varies with the speaker, relationship and setting.