Chinese Relatives Calculator: What to Call Each Relative

Chinese has a separate word for almost every relative. Your father’s older brother and your mother’s younger brother are both “uncle” in English, but 伯伯 (bóbo) and 舅舅 (jiùjiu) in Chinese. Build the relationship one step at a time below, and the calculator gives you the Chinese term with pinyin and audio, the formal word where there is one, and what to call the person to their face.

You

Tap a relative below to start.

How Chinese Family Terms Work

Three generations' hands reaching with chopsticks across a round family dinner table set with dumplings, a steamed fish and mandarin oranges

The terms look like a lot to learn, but they follow a few rules. Once you know them, most terms explain themselves.

Your father’s side or your mother’s side. Traditionally, a family was traced through the father, so your mother’s relatives are marked with 外 (wài), “outside”. Your father’s parents are 爷爷 (yéye) and 奶奶 (nǎinai), and your mother’s are 外公 (wàigōng) and 外婆 (wàipó). The same goes for grandchildren: your son’s son is 孙子 (sūnzi), and your daughter’s son is 外孙 (wàisūn).
Older or younger. Brothers and sisters are never just “brother” or “sister”: 哥哥 (gēge) is an older brother and 弟弟 (dìdi) a younger one. On your father’s side, this carries up a generation: his older brothers are 伯伯 (bóbo) and his younger brothers 叔叔 (shūshu). Your mother’s brothers are all 舅舅 (jiùjiu), whatever their age.
堂 or 表 for cousins. Children of your father’s brothers share your surname, and they’re 堂 (táng) cousins: 堂哥, 堂姐, 堂弟, 堂妹. Every other cousin, on your father’s sister’s side or anywhere on your mother’s side, is a 表 (biǎo) cousin. Add 哥, 姐, 弟 or 妹 for whether they’re older or younger than you, and male or female.
Birth order. When there are several aunts or uncles of the same kind, families number them: 大伯 (dàbó) is the eldest of your father’s older brothers, then 二伯 (èrbó), and the youngest of your mother’s brothers is 小舅 (xiǎojiù).
Talking about someone, or talking to them. Some words are only for talking about a person. A woman calls her husband’s mother 婆婆 (pópo) when she talks about her, but to her face she usually says 妈 (mā), mum. The calculator shows both where they differ.

Formal words such as 父亲 (fùqin, father) and 伯父 (bófù, uncle) are for writing and formal speech. You’d write 父亲 in a form or a speech, but call him 爸爸 at home.

Chinese Family Tree: Every Term in One Place

Ink-wash painting of an old tree with spreading branches hung with paper lanterns beside a curved courtyard wall

These tables list every relative in the calculator. Where two terms are given, both are common; where the north and south differ, the note in the calculator says so.

Your own family

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Father	爸爸	bàba	formal 父亲 fùqin
Mother	妈妈	māma	formal 母亲 mǔqin
Older brother	哥哥	gēge
Younger brother	弟弟	dìdi
Older sister	姐姐	jiějie
Younger sister	妹妹	mèimei
Husband	老公	lǎogōng	爱人 àiren; formal 丈夫 zhàngfu
Wife	老婆	lǎopo	爱人 àiren; formal 妻子 qīzi
Son	儿子	érzi
Daughter	女儿	nǚ’ér

Grandparents and great-grandparents

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Father’s father	爷爷	yéye	formal 祖父 zǔfù
Father’s mother	奶奶	nǎinai	formal 祖母 zǔmǔ
Mother’s father	外公	wàigōng	姥爷 lǎoye; formal 外祖父 wàizǔfù
Mother’s mother	外婆	wàipó	姥姥 lǎolao; formal 外祖母 wàizǔmǔ
Father’s father’s father	太爷爷	tàiyéye	formal 曾祖父 zēngzǔfù
Father’s father’s mother	太奶奶	tàinǎinai	formal 曾祖母 zēngzǔmǔ
Mother’s father’s father	太姥爷	tàilǎoye	太外公 tàiwàigōng; formal 外曾祖父 wàizēngzǔfù
Mother’s father’s mother	太姥姥	tàilǎolao	太外婆 tàiwàipó; formal 外曾祖母 wàizēngzǔmǔ
Father’s mother’s father	太姥爷	tàilǎoye	太外公 tàiwàigōng
Father’s mother’s mother	太姥姥	tàilǎolao	太外婆 tàiwàipó
Mother’s mother’s father	太姥爷	tàilǎoye	太外公 tàiwàigōng
Mother’s mother’s mother	太姥姥	tàilǎolao	太外婆 tàiwàipó

Your father’s brothers and sisters

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Father’s older brother	伯伯	bóbo	大伯 dàbó; formal 伯父 bófù
Father’s younger brother	叔叔	shūshu	formal 叔父 shūfù
Father’s older sister	姑姑	gūgu	姑妈 gūmā; formal 姑母 gūmǔ
Father’s younger sister	姑姑	gūgu	姑妈 gūmā; formal 姑母 gūmǔ
Father’s older brother’s wife	伯母	bómǔ	大妈 dàmā; 大娘 dàniáng
Father’s younger brother’s wife	婶婶	shěnshen	婶子 shěnzi; formal 婶母 shěnmǔ
Father’s sister’s husband	姑父	gūfu	姑丈 gūzhàng

Your mother’s brothers and sisters

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Mother’s older brother	舅舅	jiùjiu	formal 舅父 jiùfù
Mother’s younger brother	舅舅	jiùjiu	formal 舅父 jiùfù
Mother’s older sister	姨妈	yímā	大姨 dàyí; formal 姨母 yímǔ
Mother’s younger sister	阿姨	āyí	小姨 xiǎoyí; 姨妈 yímā; formal 姨母 yímǔ
Mother’s brother’s wife	舅妈	jiùmā	formal 舅母 jiùmǔ
Mother’s sister’s husband	姨父	yífu	姨丈 yízhàng

Cousins

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin
Father’s brother’s son	堂哥 (older) / 堂弟 (younger)	tánggē / tángdì
Father’s brother’s daughter	堂姐 (older) / 堂妹 (younger)	tángjiě / tángmèi
Father’s sister’s son	表哥 (older) / 表弟 (younger)	biǎogē / biǎodì
Father’s sister’s daughter	表姐 (older) / 表妹 (younger)	biǎojiě / biǎomèi
Mother’s brother’s son	表哥 (older) / 表弟 (younger)	biǎogē / biǎodì
Mother’s brother’s daughter	表姐 (older) / 表妹 (younger)	biǎojiě / biǎomèi
Mother’s sister’s son	表哥 (older) / 表弟 (younger)	biǎogē / biǎodì
Mother’s sister’s daughter	表姐 (older) / 表妹 (younger)	biǎojiě / biǎomèi

Great-aunts and great-uncles

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Grandfather’s older brother	大爷爷	dàyéye	伯公 bógōng; formal 伯祖父 bózǔfù
Grandfather’s younger brother	叔爷爷	shūyéye	小爷爷 xiǎoyéye; 叔公 shūgōng; formal 叔祖父 shūzǔfù
Grandfather’s sister	姑奶奶	gūnǎinai	姑婆 gūpó; formal 姑祖母 gūzǔmǔ
Grandmother’s brother	舅爷爷	jiùyéye	舅公 jiùgōng; formal 舅祖父 jiùzǔfù
Grandmother’s sister	姨奶奶	yínǎinai	姨婆 yípó; formal 姨祖母 yízǔmǔ
Mother’s mother’s brother	舅姥爷	jiùlǎoye	舅公 jiùgōng
Mother’s mother’s sister	姨姥姥	yílǎolao	姨婆 yípó
Mother’s father’s sister	姑姥姥	gūlǎolao

Your brothers’ and sisters’ families

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Older brother’s wife	嫂子	sǎozi	嫂嫂 sǎosao
Younger brother’s wife	弟妹	dìmèi	弟媳 dìxí
Older sister’s husband	姐夫	jiěfu
Younger sister’s husband	妹夫	mèifu
Brother’s son	侄子	zhízi
Brother’s daughter	侄女	zhínǚ
Sister’s son	外甥	wàisheng
Sister’s daughter	外甥女	wàishengnǚ

Your children’s families

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Daughter-in-law	儿媳妇	érxífu	儿媳 érxí
Son-in-law	女婿	nǚxu
Your child’s father-in-law	亲家公	qìngjiagōng	to their face 亲家 qìngjia
Your child’s mother-in-law	亲家母	qìngjiamǔ	to their face 亲家 qìngjia
Son’s son	孙子	sūnzi
Son’s daughter	孙女	sūnnǚ
Daughter’s son	外孙	wàisūn
Daughter’s daughter	外孙女	wàisūnnǚ
Son’s son’s son	曾孙	zēngsūn
Son’s son’s daughter	曾孙女	zēngsūnnǚ

Your husband’s family

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Husband’s father	公公	gōnggong	to their face 爸 bà
Husband’s mother	婆婆	pópo	to their face 妈 mā
Husband’s older brother	大伯子	dàbǎizi	to their face 哥 gē
Husband’s younger brother	小叔子	xiǎoshūzi
Husband’s older sister	大姑子	dàgūzi	to their face 姐 jiě
Husband’s younger sister	小姑子	xiǎogūzi
Husband’s brother’s wife	妯娌	zhóuli	to their face 嫂子 sǎozi

Your wife’s family

Relative	Chinese	Pinyin	Also
Wife’s father	岳父	yuèfù	老丈人 lǎozhàngren; to their face 爸 bà
Wife’s mother	岳母	yuèmǔ	丈母娘 zhàngmuniáng; to their face 妈 mā
Wife’s older brother	大舅子	dàjiùzi	to their face 哥 gē
Wife’s younger brother	小舅子	xiǎojiùzi
Wife’s older sister	大姨子	dàyízi	to their face 姐 jiě
Wife’s younger sister	小姨子	xiǎoyízi
Wife’s sister’s husband	连襟	liánjīn	to their face 姐夫 jiěfu

In-Laws: Your Husband’s or Wife’s Family

Ink-wash painting of two village houses on either side of a stream, joined by an arched stone bridge

In-law terms depend on whether the link is through a husband or a wife, so a woman and a man use different words for their spouse’s parents. A woman’s father-in-law is 公公 (gōnggong), and a man’s is 岳父 (yuèfù), or 老丈人 (lǎozhàngren) in everyday speech.

These are words for talking about your in-laws. Face to face, most people call their spouse’s parents 爸 and 妈, just as they call their own, and call their spouse’s older brothers and sisters 哥 and 姐. Younger brothers- and sisters-in-law are usually called by name.

Two terms describe the in-laws’ link to each other. The wives of brothers are 妯娌 (zhóuli) to each other, and the husbands of sisters are 连襟 (liánjīn). The parents of a married couple are 亲家 (qìngjia) to each other, with 亲 read qìng here rather than the usual qīn: 亲家公 is the other family’s father, and 亲家母 the mother.

Learning the Family Words

Start with the words in the first table: parents, brothers and sisters, husband, wife and children. They’re in the first two levels of the HSK, and you’ll use them in your first conversations. Our post on family in Chinese has them with example sentences, and the HSK 1 vocabulary list covers 爸爸, 妈妈, 儿子 and 女儿.

The rest are easier to remember when you can picture the person. Try the calculator on your own family: work out what you’d call each of your aunts, uncles and cousins, and say the words out loud. A word you’ve said about someone you know sticks far better than a line in a table.

Words also stick best when you meet them in sentences. That’s how Mandarin Mosaic works: it shows you sentences with one new word in each, with audio, and brings each word back with spaced repetition before you forget it. It’s on iOS and Android, with Simplified and Traditional characters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you call your father’s younger brother in Chinese?

叔叔 (shūshu). His wife is 婶婶 (shěnshen). Your father’s older brother is 伯伯 (bóbo), and his wife is 伯母 (bómǔ).

What’s the difference between 舅舅 and 叔叔?

Both mean uncle. 舅舅 (jiùjiu) is your mother’s brother, and 叔叔 (shūshu) is your father’s younger brother. Children also call any man about their parents’ age 叔叔, so it’s the word you’ll hear most.

What’s the difference between 堂 and 表 cousins?

堂 (táng) cousins are the children of your father’s brothers, who share your family name. 表 (biǎo) cousins are all the others: the children of your father’s sisters and of your mother’s brothers and sisters.

Why does Chinese have so many words for relatives?

The terms come from a traditional family system that cared about three things: which side of the family someone is on, which generation they belong to, and whether they’re older or younger. Each term encodes all three, so the word alone tells you exactly where someone sits in the family.

Do I have to say the full term?

To your relatives’ faces, yes: calling an older relative by their name is rude in Chinese. Use the term, or a numbered form such as 二姨 (èryí) for your mother’s second sister. With younger relatives, such as younger cousins, nephews and nieces, using their name is normal.