In the Chinese culture, it is disrespectful to call elders by their names directly. Chinese people usually call the older people by the family terms. Keep on reading for more interesting Chinese words about family!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents are our immediate family who gives us life in this new world. Dad – \u7238\u7238 (b\u00e0 ba) and mom – \u5988\u5988(m\u0101 ma) are almost the first few words a baby taught to speak. After all, parents have been our dearest people in touch since we were born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Chinese, there is a formal and a casual way to address our parents. A more formal word \u201cfather\u201d is called \u7236\u4eb2 (f\u00f9 q\u012bn), and if you want it more casual, you can use dad – \u7238\u7238 (b\u00e0 ba). Similarly, you can address your mother as \u6bcd\u4eb2 (m\u01d4 q\u012bn) or mom – \u5988\u5988 (m\u0101 ma). Some people call their parents simply by \u7238 (b\u00e0) or \u5988 (m\u0101). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to say parents, you can easily combine these words. Both \u7236\u6bcd (f\u00f9 m\u01d4) and \u7238\u5988 (b\u00e0m\u0101) are understandable by Chinese people. Notice that there are repetitive characters? In fact, many family terms in Chinese come in two same characters, and they are easy to learn! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Siblings are the people we grew up together in the same house. They are our closest friends, and no other relationship can beat the one with our siblings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As opposed to English, the older and younger siblings are addressed in different terms. They are relatively easy to learn, though. You will notice that these family terms come in repetitive words too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, \u201csiblings\u201d is called \u5144\u5f1f\u59d0\u59b9 (xi\u014dng d\u00ec ji\u011b m\u00e8i) in Chinese. It literally combines all characters of brothers and sisters, except the first word comes in \u5144(xi\u014dng) instead of \u54e5(g\u0113). Why is it so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Chinese, the formal way of saying \u201cbrothers\u201d is \u5144\u5f1f(xi\u014dng d\u00ec). You can use it to address either \u54e5\u54e5 (g\u0113 ge) or \u5f1f\u5f1f(d\u00ec d\u00ec). On the other hand, \u59d0\u59b9 (ji\u011b m\u00e8i) is the most common way we use to address \u201csisters.\u201d That\u2019s why it is called \u5144\u5f1f\u59d0\u59b9 (xi\u014dng d\u00ec ji\u011b m\u00e8i) for siblings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fun fact is that Chinese people also use \u5144\u5f1f(xi\u014dng d\u00ec) to call buddies or homies who have no biological relations. Similarly, they call their female best friends \u59d0\u59b9 (ji\u011b m\u00e8i).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before starting a new family, it is crucial to learn some vocabulary to address your family members. Let\u2019s take a look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a few ways to address your husband or wife formally. The term \u4e08\u592b (zh\u00e0ng f\u016b) – husband is usually used along with \u59bb\u5b50 (q\u012b zi) – wife. Besides, you can also use the formal terms, \u5148\u751f (xi\u0101n sh\u0113ng) for husband and \u592a\u592a (t\u00e0i t\u00e0i) for the wife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are on a more casual occasion, you can use the terms \u8001\u516c (l\u01ceo g\u014dng) – husband and \u8001\u5a46 (l\u01ceo p\u00f3) – wife. These terms refer to your spouse, who you will live long and get old together, thus the character \u8001(l\u01ceo) – old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chinese words son – \u513f\u5b50 (\u00e9r zi) and daughter – \u5973\u513f (n\u01da\u2019\u00e9r) are easier to read and write. It could be tricky to pronounce \u5973 (n\u01da), so don\u2019t rush and practice it repeatedly. To say children, you can combine the words to form \u513f\u5973 (\u00e9rn\u01da) or \u5b50\u5973 (z\u01d0 n\u01da). Alternatively, \u5b69\u5b50 (h\u00e1i zi) is also used to mean children in Chinese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"family](\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1576089073624-b5751a8f4de9?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80\")
Parents in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
English<\/strong><\/td> Chinese & Pinyin<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Father <\/td> \u7236\u4eb2 (f\u00f9 q\u012bn)
\u7238\u7238 (b\u00e0 ba)<\/td><\/tr>Mother <\/td> \u6bcd\u4eb2 (m\u01d4 q\u012bn)
\u5988\u5988 (m\u0101 ma)<\/td><\/tr>Parents<\/td> \u7236\u6bcd (f\u00f9 m\u01d4)
\u7238\u5988 (b\u00e0 m\u0101)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSiblings in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
English<\/strong><\/td> Chinese & Pinyin<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Elder
Brother<\/td>\u54e5\u54e5 (g\u0113 ge)<\/td><\/tr> Younger
Brother<\/td>\u5f1f\u5f1f (d\u00ec d\u00ec)<\/td><\/tr> Elder
Sister<\/td>\u59d0\u59d0 (ji\u011b jie)<\/td><\/tr> Younger
Sister<\/td>\u59b9\u59b9m\u00e8i mei)<\/td><\/tr> Siblings<\/td> \u5144\u5f1f\u59d0\u59b9 (xi\u014dng d\u00ec ji\u011b m\u00e8i)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Spouse and Children in Chinese<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
English<\/strong><\/td> Chinese & PinYin<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Husband<\/td> \u4e08\u592b (zh\u00e0ng f\u016b)
\u5148\u751f (xi\u0101n sh\u0113ng)
\u8001\u516c ( l\u01ceo g\u014dng)<\/td><\/tr>Wife<\/td> \u59bb\u5b50 (q\u012b zi)
\u592a\u592a (t\u00e0i t\u00e0i)
\u8001\u5a46 (l\u01ceo p\u00f3)<\/td><\/tr>Spouse<\/td> \u914d\u5076 (p\u00e8i \u01d2u)
\u7231\u4eba (\u00e0i r\u00e9n)<\/td><\/tr>Son<\/td> \u513f\u5b50 (\u00e9r zi)<\/td><\/tr> Daughter<\/td> \u5973\u513f (n\u01da\u2019\u00e9r)<\/td><\/tr> Children<\/td> \u513f\u5973 (\u00e9rn\u01da)
\u5b50\u5973 (Z\u01d0 n\u01da)
\u5b69\u5b50 (h\u00e1i zi)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![\"group](\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1577897113292-3b95936e5206?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n