Chinese Family Tree Explained: A Complete Guide to Family Members in Mandarin

Learning how to talk about family in Mandarin can be surprisingly detailed. In English, one word such as “uncle” may describe several different relatives. In Chinese, the exact relationship often changes the word you use.

A Chinese family tree can tell you whether a relative is on your father’s or mother’s side, whether they are older or younger, and how they are connected to you. Once you understand these patterns, Chinese family terms become much easier to learn.

How the Chinese Family Tree Works

A useful way to understand Chinese kinship terms is to ask three questions:

Which side of the family? Who is this person’s parent? Is the person older or younger?

For example, your father’s brothers are not simply all called “uncle.”

His older brother is your 伯伯 (bóbo), while his younger brother is your 叔叔 (shūshu). Your mother’s brother, however, is your 舅舅 (jiùjiu).

The same pattern appears throughout the Chinese family tree. Instead of memorizing dozens of unrelated words, you can learn the system behind them.

Your Immediate Family in Mandarin

Parents

• 妈妈 (māma) — mother / mom

• 母亲 (mǔqīn) — mother, more formal
• 爸爸 (bàba) — father / dad

• 父亲 (fùqīn) — father, more formal
• 父母 (fùmǔ) — parents

Siblings

Mandarin distinguishes older and younger siblings:

• 哥哥 (gēge) — older brother

• 弟弟 (dìdi) — younger brother

• 姐姐 (jiějie) — older sister

• 妹妹 (mèimei) — younger sister

• 兄弟姐妹 (xiōngdì jiěmèi) — brothers and sisters / siblings

This distinction is important because Chinese does not normally use one general word for both an older and younger sibling.

Children

• 儿子 (érzi) — son
• 女儿 (nǚ’ér) — daughter
• 子女 (zǐnǚ) — children, more formal

Grandparents: Why Are There Four Different Words?

The Chinese family tree separates grandparents according to which parent they are related to.

On your father’s side:

• 爷爷 (yéye) — father’s father

• 奶奶 (nǎinai) — father’s mother

On your mother’s side:

• 外公 (wàigōng) — mother’s father

• 外婆 (wàipó) — mother’s mother

In northern China and some other regions, you may also hear 姥爷 (lǎoye) for mother’s father and 姥姥 (lǎolao) for mother’s mother.

More formal terms include 祖父 (zǔfù), 祖母 (zǔmǔ), 外祖父 (wàizǔfù), and 外祖母 (wàizǔmǔ).

For children learning Mandarin, the everyday forms are usually the best place to start.

Your Father’s Brothers and Sisters

This is one of the most useful parts of the Chinese family tree.

Father’s brothers

Your father’s older brother is:

伯伯 (bóbo) — father’s older brother

His younger brother is:

叔叔 (shūshu) — father’s younger brother

Their wives have their own terms:

• 伯母 (bómǔ) — father’s older brother’s wife
• 婶婶 (shěnshen) — father’s younger brother’s wife

If your father has several brothers, families may use terms such as 大伯 (dàbó), 二伯 (èrbó), or 小叔 (xiǎoshū) to distinguish them.

Father’s sisters

Your father’s sister is:

姑姑 (gūgu) — father’s sister

You may also hear 姑妈 (gūmā).

Her husband is:

姑父 (gūfu) — father’s sister’s husband

In everyday speech, families may add words such as 大姑 or 小姑 to distinguish sisters by age or position in the family.

Your Mother’s Brothers and Sisters

Your mother’s side follows a different set of terms.

Mother’s brothers

舅舅 (jiùjiu) — mother’s brother

His wife is:

舅妈 (jiùmā) — mother’s brother’s wife

You may hear 大舅, 二舅, or 小舅 when there is more than one maternal uncle.

Mother’s sisters

姨妈 (yímā) — mother’s sister

阿姨 (āyí) can also be used for a mother’s sister, although it is also a common way to address an older woman who is not a relative.

Her husband is:

姨父 (yífù) — mother’s sister’s husband

For several maternal aunts, you may hear 大姨, 二姨, or 小姨.

Chinese Cousins: Understanding 堂 and 表

Cousin relationships are where the Chinese family tree becomes especially interesting.

Instead of using one word for every cousin, Mandarin traditionally separates cousins into 堂 (táng) and 表 (biǎo) relationships.

堂 cousins

A simple rule for learners is:

Your father’s brother’s children are your 堂 cousins.

For example:

• 堂哥 (tánggē) — older male cousin
• 堂弟 (tángdì) — younger male cousin
• 堂姐 (tángjiě) — older female cousin
• 堂妹 (tángmèi) — younger female cousin

So if your father’s younger brother has a son who is older than you, he is your 堂哥 (tánggē).

表 cousins

Many other cousin relationships are described with 表.

For example, the children of your mother’s siblings or your father’s sisters are generally your 表 cousins:

• 表哥 (biǎogē) — older male cousin
• 表弟 (biǎodì) — younger male cousin
• 表姐 (biǎojiě) — older female cousin
• 表妹 (biǎomèi) — younger female cousin

For example:

Your mother’s sister’s daughter → 表姐 (biǎojiě) / 表妹 (biǎomèi)

The choice depends on whether she is older or younger than you.

It is sometimes said that “堂 means the same surname and 表 means a different surname.” This can be a useful historical shortcut, but it is not a complete rule. The family relationship itself is more important than surname.

The Generation Below You

Chinese also has different terms for your siblings’ children.

Your brother’s children are:

• 侄子 (zhízi) — brother’s son
• 侄女 (zhínǚ) — brother’s daughter

Your sister’s children are:

• 外甥 (wàishēng) — sister’s son
• 外甥女 (wàishēngnǚ) — sister’s daughter

This is another example of how Mandarin can describe a relationship more precisely than English.

Common In-Law Terms

Marriage adds another group of Chinese family terms.

For a wife, her parents are:

• 岳父 (yuèfù) — wife’s father
• 岳母 (yuèmǔ) — wife’s mother

For a husband, his parents are:

• 公公 (gōnggong) — husband’s father
• 婆婆 (pópo) — husband’s mother

There are also specific words for your siblings’ spouses:

• 嫂子 (sǎozi) — older brother’s wife
• 弟媳 (dìxí) — younger brother’s wife
• 姐夫 (jiěfu) — older sister’s husband
• 妹夫 (mèifu) — younger sister’s husband

Some of these terms are more common in certain family situations than others, so learners do not need to memorize the entire list immediately.

Useful Chinese Family Sentences

Once you know the vocabulary, simple sentences can help you practice.

我家有五口人。Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén. There are five people in my family.

Here, 口 (kǒu) is a common measure word for family members.

You can also introduce relatives with:

这是我姐姐。Zhè shì wǒ jiějie. This is my older sister.

这是我妈妈的妹妹，她是我的小姨。Zhè shì wǒ māma de mèimei, tā shì wǒ de xiǎoyí. This is my mother’s younger sister. She is my maternal aunt.

These sentences let children practice family vocabulary while learning how relationships are described in Mandarin.

Chinese Family Trees and Traditional Culture

The Chinese family tree is not only about vocabulary. It also reflects traditional ideas about family relationships.

In the past, extended families could record their ancestry in a 家谱 (jiāpǔ), or genealogy. Some families also used 字辈 (zìbèi), generation names in which people from the same generation shared a character in their given names.

Traditional family structures could therefore contain information about generations, ancestry, and relationships that is not normally visible in an English family vocabulary list.

Modern families are more flexible. Overseas Chinese families, bilingual households, and younger generations may use a mixture of Chinese and English terms. Some relatives may simply be called “Grandma,” “Uncle,” or “Auntie,” depending on family preference.

The goal is not to memorize every traditional term perfectly. Understanding how the system works is more useful.

FAQs

How do you say “family” in Chinese?

The most common word is 家庭 (jiātíng) for family or household. 家 (jiā) is also extremely common and can mean home or family depending on context.

How do you say “uncle” in Chinese?

It depends on the relationship. 伯伯 (bóbo) is your father’s older brother, 叔叔 (shūshu) is your father’s younger brother, and 舅舅 (jiùjiu) is your mother’s brother.

How do you say “aunt” in Chinese?

Again, the relationship matters. 姑姑 (gūgu) is your father’s sister, while 姨妈 (yímā) is your mother’s sister.

What is the difference between 堂 and 表 cousins?

As a beginner’s rule, children of your father’s brothers are 堂 cousins. Many other cousin relationships, including children of your mother’s siblings and father’s sisters, are 表 cousins.

Why does Chinese distinguish older and younger relatives?

Age and generation traditionally play an important role in Chinese family relationships. This is why Mandarin has separate words such as 哥哥 and 弟弟, or 堂哥 and 堂弟.

Do I need to learn every Chinese family term?

No. Start with immediate family, grandparents, and the most common uncles, aunts, and cousins. Add less common terms as you encounter them.

Understanding the Chinese Family Tree

The Chinese family tree may look complicated at first, but the vocabulary follows recognizable patterns.

Start by identifying the side of the family, then consider the generation, gender, and sometimes age or birth order. This explains why Mandarin uses different words for relatives who would all be called “uncle,” “aunt,” or “cousin” in English. Learning these family terms is also a practical way to learn Chinese and build everyday vocabulary.

Xuehua | WuKong Chinese Teacher

Xuehua graduated from Beijing Language and Culture University with a Master’s degree in Linguistics and has 6 years of experience in Chinese language education. With a strong academic background in linguistics and extensive teaching experience, she understands the needs of different Chinese learners and is skilled at guiding students in a clear, professional, and approachable way. Xuehua is dedicated to helping more learners understand the Chinese language and Chinese culture in an effective and engaging learning process.