Family & Relationships in Chinese 家庭和人际关系

Chinese is famous for how precisely it names the family: 哥哥 and 弟弟 both mean "brother", but one is older and one is younger, and the grandparents on each side have their own names too. This list walks through the household from parents to grandchildren, then adds the people you meet outside it — classmates, colleagues, neighbors and friends.

• 50 words
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• 家庭jiā tíng
  family; household
  教育从家庭开始。

  Education starts at home.
• 家人jiā rén
  family members
  你的家人好么？

  Is your family doing well?
• 爸爸bà ba
  dad; father
  汤姆没有爸爸。

  Tom doesn't have a dad.
• 妈妈mā ma
  mom; mother
  这是我的妈妈。

  This is my mother.
• 哥哥gē ge
  older brother
  他是我的哥哥。

  He's my older brother.
• 姐姐jiě jie
  older sister
  她是我的姐姐。

  She's my older sister.
• 弟弟dì di
  younger brother
  我弟弟很富有。

  My brother is rich.
• 妹妹mèi mei
  younger sister
  我的妹妹有名。

  My sister is famous.
• 爷爷yé ye
  grandpa (dad's side)
  爷爷买给我的！

  Grandpa bought it for me!
• 奶奶nǎi nai
  grandma (dad's side)
  奶奶死了，全家大惊。

  Grandmother died, leaving the whole family stunned.
• 外公wài gōng
  grandpa (mom's side)
  他很像他外公。

  He resembles his grandfather.
• 外婆wài pó
  grandma (mom's side)
  这是我外婆的假牙。

  It's my grandmother's set of false teeth.
• 儿子ér zi
  son
  我不是你儿子。

  I'm not your son.
• 女儿nǚ ér
  daughter
  我有一个女儿。

  I have a daughter.
• 丈夫zhàng fu
  husband
  她恨她的丈夫。

  She hated her husband.
• 妻子qī zǐ
  wife
  对我妻子所做的一切，我认为我不能负责。

  I don’t hold myself responsible for what my wife did.
• 孩子hái zi
  child
  她爱她的孩子。

  She loves her children.
• 阿姨ā yí
  aunt (mom's sister; polite for any woman)
  我们去看你叔叔阿姨时你要听话。

  Be good when we visit your uncle and aunt.
• 姑姑gū gu
  aunt (dad's sister)
  我住在我姑姑家。

  I'm staying at my aunt's.
• 叔叔shū shu
  uncle (dad's younger brother)
  她从她叔叔那儿得到很多油画。

  She got a lot of paintings from her uncle.
• 舅舅jiù jiu
  uncle (mom's brother)
  当时带我坐车的人是我的舅舅。

  The man I travelled with was my uncle.
• 侄子zhí zi
  nephew (brother's son)
  我侄子今年上小学了。

  My nephew started elementary school this year.
• 侄女zhí nǚ
  niece (brother's daughter)
  这三个漂亮的女孩都是我的侄女。

  These three pretty girls are all nieces of mine.
• 男孩nán hái
  boy
  两个男孩了 一架。

  The two boys had a fight.
• 女孩nǚ hái
  girl
  正在采花的那个女孩是我的妹妹。

  The girl gathering flowers is my younger sister.
• 亲戚qīn qi
  relatives
  附近的朋友胜过远方的亲戚。

  A near friend is better than a far-away relative.
• 先生xiān sheng
  Mr.; sir
  王先生来自中国。

  Mr Wang is from China.
• 小姐xiǎo jie
  Miss; young lady
  小姐！我觉得不舒服。

  Miss! I feel sick.
• 名字míng zi
  name
  你叫什么名字？

  What is your name?
• 生日shēng rì
  birthday
  祝你生日快乐。

  Happy birthday to you!
• 男朋友nán péng you
  boyfriend
  你男朋友真帅！

  Your boyfriend is really handsome.
• 女朋友nǚ péng you
  girlfriend
  他没有女朋友。

  He has no girlfriend.
• 未婚夫wèi hūn fū
  fiancé
  她和未婚夫在一起这么久，都要结婚了。

  She and her fiancée are together for so long, they are ready to get married.
• 未婚妻wèi hūn qī
  fiancée
  他的未婚妻是位医生。

  His fiancée is a doctor.
• 朋友péng you
  friend
  我们只是朋友。

  We're just friends.
• 同学tóng xué
  classmate; schoolmate
  他是我的同学。

  He is my classmate.
• 同事tóng shì
  colleague; coworker
  明惠是我的同事。

  Minghui is my colleague.
• 邻居lín jū
  neighbor
  他一向是个好邻居 。

  He has always been a good neighbour.
• 老板lǎo bǎn
  boss; shop owner
  老板在那里吗？

  The boss is there?
• 上司shàng si
  superior at work; one's boss
  她只对她的上司礼貌。

  She is only polite to her superiors.
• 下属xià shǔ
  subordinate; junior staff
  他对下属总是很客气。

  He is always polite to his subordinates.
• 客户kè hù
  client; business customer
  我们打算给潜在的客户寄一些广告资料。

  We are going to send advertising materials to the prospective clients.
• 室友shì yǒu
  roommate
  我的室友真恶心。

  My roommate is so disgusting.
• 队友duì yǒu
  teammate
  托雷斯把球踢给了队友。

  Torres booted the ball to his teammate.
• 教练jiào liàn
  coach
  汤姆不是坏教练。

  Tom isn't a bad coach.
• 老师lǎo shī
  teacher
  应该尊敬老师。

  One should respect his teachers.
• 房东fáng dōng
  landlord; landlady
  为什么这个月房东还不来收房租？

  Why hasn't the landlord come to collect rent this month?
• 认识rèn shi
  to know (someone); to meet
  你认识他们吗？

  Do you know them?
• 结婚jié hūn
  to get married
  她十七岁结婚。

  She got married at the age of seventeen.
• 家jiā
  home; family
  他的家在哪儿?

  Where's his home?