Lesson 15
Family is an important part of every culture. Discussing who the members of your family are will likely be one of the first conversation topics that come up when you meet a native Chinese speaker. Armed with the vocabulary you’ll learn in this lesson and words you’ve already learnt, you’ll be ready to start sharing about your family.
Family Members
| 爸爸 | bàba | father |
| 妈妈 | māma | mother |
| 老公 | lǎogōng | husband |
| 老婆 | lǎopó | wife |
| 孩子 | háizi | child |
| 儿子 | érzi | son |
| 女儿 | nǚér | daughter |
| 兄弟姐妹 | xiōng dì jiě mèi | siblings |
| 哥哥 | gēge | older brother |
| 弟弟 | dìdi | younger brother |
| 姐姐 | jiějie | older sister |
| 妹妹 | mèimei | younger sister |
| 爷爷 | yéye | (paternal) grandfather |
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | (paternal) grandmother |
| 姥爷 | lǎoye | (maternal) grandfather |
| 姥姥 | lǎolao | (maternal) grandmother |
Supplementary Vocabulary
| 家 | jiā | home; family |
| 人 | rén | person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member |
| 口 | kǒu | measure word used for counting the number of members in a whole family. |
| 生日 | shēngrì | birthday |
Family members in Chinese
In English, we usually just say “brother” or “sister” when talking about our siblings. We only add details like “older brother” or “younger sister” if we need to. But in Chinese, the word “brother” is expressed by two separate words. For instance, if you had both an older and a younger brother, you would always say “哥哥” when talking about the older one and “弟弟” when referring to your younger brother. Chinese also makes distinctions for grandparents based on whether they’re from your mom’s side or your dad’s side. In a later lesson you will learn about other extended family members, which gets more complex and interesting as there are five different words for both uncle and aunt.
Note that in casual conversation, “我的妈妈” is often shortened to “我妈”. The same can be done with “爸爸”, but do not shorten the other family member words in this way.
Key Expressions
| 你的家有几口人？ | Nǐ de jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén? | How many people are there in your family? |
| 我的家有三口人。 | Wǒ de jiā yǒu sānkǒu rén. | There are three people in my family. |
| 你有兄弟姐妹吗？ | Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma? | Do you have any siblings? |
| 我有两个姐姐和一个哥哥。 | Wǒ yǒu liǎnggè jiějie hé yīgè gēge. | I have two elder sisters and one elder brother. |
| 你的生日是什么时候？ | Nǐde shēngrì shì shénmeshíhou? | When is your birthday? |
| 我的生日是8月27日。 | Wǒde shēngrì shì bāyuè èrshíqīrì. | My birthday is on the 27th of August. |
Talking about my family
Zhang Mei briefly describes different members of her family. Read and listen to the following sentences recalling vocabulary you learnt in previous lessons. Check your understanding with the English translation provided. Then, shadow what you hear by reading the sentences aloud.
你好，我叫张美。我家有五口人：爸爸、妈妈、弟弟、妹妹和我。我们有一只猫和两条狗。
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Zhāng Měi. Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔkǒu rén: bàba、 māma、 dìdi、 mèimei hé wǒ. Wǒmen yǒu yì zhǐ māo hé liǎng tiáo gǒu.
我的爸爸叫张利。他的生日是十月三日。他最喜欢的颜色是蓝色。爸爸喜欢吃饺子，喜欢喝茶。
Wǒ de bàba jiào Zhāng Lì. Tā de shēngrì shì shíyuè sānrì. Tā zuì xǐhuan de yánsè shì lánsè. Bàba xǐhuan chī jiǎozi, xǐhuan hēchá.
我妈的名字是黄静。她的生日是五月四号。她最喜欢的颜色是橙色。妈妈喜欢吃水果，喜欢喝咖啡。
Wǒ māde míngzi shì Huáng Jìng. Tā de shēngrì shì wǔyuè sì hào. Tā zuì xǐhuan de yánsè shì chéngsè. Māma xǐhuan chī shuǐguǒ, xǐhuan hē kāfēi.
这是我弟弟。他今年十四岁。他最喜欢的颜色是黑色。弟弟喜欢吃披萨。他不喜欢吃蔬菜。
Zhèshì wǒ dìdi. Tā jīnnián shísì suì. Tā zuì xǐhuan de yánsè shì hēisè. Dìdi xǐhuan chī pīsà. Tā bù xǐhuan chī shūcài.
这是我的妹妹。她今年十一岁。她最喜欢的颜色是紫色。妹妹非常喜欢吃蛋糕。她不喜欢吃鱼。
Zhèshì wǒde mèimei. Tā jīnnián shíyī suì. Tā zuì xǐhuan de yánsè shì zǐsè. Mèimei fēicháng xǐhuan chī dàngāo. Tā bù xǐhuan chī yú.
English Translation
Hello, I’m Zhang Mei. My family has five members: dad, mom, younger brother, younger sister, and me. We have one cat and two dogs. My dad’s name is Zhang Li. His birthday is on October 3rd. His favorite color is blue. Dad enjoys eating dumplings and likes to drink tea. My mom’s name is Huang Jing. Her birthday is on May 4th. Her favorite color is orange. Mom likes to eat fruits and enjoys drinking coffee. This is my younger brother. He is fourteen years old. His favorite color is black. He likes to eat pizza. He doesn’t like to eat vegetables. This is my younger sister. She is eleven years old. Her favorite color is purple. My sister loves eating cake. She doesn’t like to eat fish.
What you’ve learnt
In this lesson you’ve learnt the basics needed to talk about your family. If you’re excited to learn even more vocabulary to better describe your family members, we’ll be delving into hobbies in the next lesson.
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