Talking About Family
in Mandarin Chinese
家庭 (jiātíng)

Family is important in Chinese culture, and it’s one of the first topics language learners study. In Mandarin Chinese, family vocabulary is specific, especially when talking about relatives.

A. Vocabulary

Please study the family-related vocabulary below to help you build your understanding of the topic.

Note: If you’re using a mobile phone and the audio doesn’t play, then switch to desktop mode.

VOCABULARY OF FAMILY IN MANDARIN CHINESE
No	Pictures	English	Chinese  Characters  (Simplified)	Pinyin	Audio
1		Family	家	jiā
2		Parents	父母	fùmǔ
3		Father	爸爸	bàba
4		Mother	妈妈	māma
5		Child	孩子	háizi
6		Son	儿子	érzi
7		Daughter	女儿	nǚ’ér
8		Older brother	哥哥	gēge
9		Younger brother	弟弟	dìdi
10		Older sister	姐姐	jiějie
11		Younger sister	妹妹	mèimei
12		Spouse (general)	配偶	pèi’ǒu
13		Husband	丈夫	zhàngfu
14		Husband (informal)	老公	lǎogōng
15		Wife	妻子	qīzi
16		Wife (informal)	老婆	lǎopó
17		Grandfather (paternal)	爷爷	yéye
18		Grandfather (maternal)	外公 / 姥爷	wàigōng / lǎoyé
19		Grandmother (paternal)	奶奶	nǎinai
20		Grandmother (maternal)	外婆 / 姥姥	wàipó / lǎolao
21		Uncle (father’s older brother)	伯伯	bóbo
22		Uncle (father’s younger brother)	叔叔	shūshu
23		Uncle (mother’s brother)	舅舅	jiùjiu
24		Auntie (father’s sister)	姑姑	gūgu
25		Auntie (mother’s sister)	阿姨	āyí
26		In-laws (general)	亲家	qìngjiā
27		Father-in-law (husband’s father)	公公	gōnggong
28		Mother-in-law (husband’s mother)	婆婆	pópo
29		Father-in-law (wife’s father)	岳父	yuèfù
30		Mother-in-law (wife’s mother)	岳母	yuèmǔ
Ste Magazine

Now, take a moment to listen the entire words to reinforce your understanding of the vocabulary. https://stemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Whole-Vocab-of-Familiy-Mandarin.mp3?_=1

B. Useful Expressions

a. 你家有几口人？
Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?
How many people are there in your family?

b. 我家有五口人：爸爸、妈妈、哥哥、妹妹和我。
Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén: bàba, māma, gēge, mèimei hé wǒ.
There are five people in my family: Dad, Mom, older brother, younger sister, and me.

c. 我有一个哥哥。
Wǒ yǒu yí gè gēge.
I have an older brother.

d. 他们是谁？
Tāmen shì shéi?
Who are they?

e. 他们是我的爸爸妈妈。
Tāmen shì wǒ de bàba māma.
They are my dad and mom.

f. 你有兄弟姐妹吗？
Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?
Do you have siblings?

g. 你有孩子吗？
Nǐ yǒu háizi ma?
Do you have children?

C. Listening Activity

Please listen to the following audio then answer the questions that follow. https://stemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Listening-Wo-de-Jia.mp3?_=2

Time's up

To access the transcript of the audio, please click here.

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D. Speaking Activity

Please practice the following dialogue!

👩 小美 (Xiǎo Měi)
👦 小龙 (Xiǎo Lóng)

小美：你家有几口人？
Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?
How many people are in your family?

小龙：我家有四口人。爸爸、妈妈、姐姐和我。你呢？
Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén. Bàba, māma, jiějie hé wǒ. Nǐ ne?
There are 4 people: Dad, Mom, older sister, and me. How about you?

小美：我家有五口人。爸爸、妈妈、两个弟弟和我。
Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén. Bàba, māma, liǎng gè dìdi hé wǒ.
My family has 5 people: Dad, Mom, two younger brothers, and me.

小龙：你有兄弟姐妹吗？
Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?
Do you have brothers and sisters?

小美：有，我有两个弟弟。你呢？
Yǒu, wǒ yǒu liǎng gè dìdi. Nǐ ne?
Yes, I have two younger brothers. And you?

小龙：我有一个姐姐。
Wǒ yǒu yí gè jiějie.
I have one older sister.

E. Grammar Elements 

How Many Family Members Do You Have?

Use 几口人 (jǐ kǒu rén) to ask how many people are in your family. Here, 口 (kǒu) is a measure word for people in the household. And use 有 (yǒu) to say you have something or someone.

✅ Structure:
你家有几口人？
Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?
→ How many people are there in your family?

Answer:
我家有 + number + 口人。
Wǒ jiā yǒu + number + kǒu rén.

📝 Examples:
我家有五口人。
Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén.
→ There are 5 people in my family.

他家有三口人。
Tā jiā yǒu sān kǒu rén.
→ His family has 3 people.

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