Chinese word for brother

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What is older brother in Hokkien?

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What is Hokkien older sister?

Where did Hokkien originate from?

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Cultures all over the world have different ways to address family members, friends, and new acquaintances. In some countries, how people address each other can be paramount to showing respect. In Korea, many people maintain the use of titles when addressing one another in order to be polite. Using the wrong name could cause offense, and so it is extremely important within Korean culture to learn and use correct titles. Although not as traditional as Korea, there are similar expectations within Chinese culture, based on a person’s age, status and job.

Below is a list of Chinese family names from ‘father’ to ‘great-granddaughter’ and also a list of terms that we, as foreigners might use to address certain people in China. You will also find some useful questions for asking a person’s name and how to respond.

Asking Someone’s Name

These are the commonly used words for ‘name’ in Chinese.

姓名 (xìng míng) – Full name

姓 (xìng) Family name

名字 (míng zi) Name

Informal: 你叫什么名字？(nǐ jiào shén me míng zi) What are you called?

Informal: 我叫。。。(wǒ jiào…) I’m called…

This is the most common and polite way to ask someone’s family name in Chinese, however, in general it is not customary to simply ask for the family name:

Polite: 你贵姓？(nǐ guì xìng) What is your family name?

Polite: 敝姓王。((bì) xìng wáng) My humble family name is Wang.

怎么称呼你？ (zěn me chēng hu nǐ) What should I call you?

Chinese Names

Traditionally, in Chinese, the family name, which can also be one or two characters, comes first, followed by one of two characters for the given name.

There are over 3500 Chinese family names, but only 100 are widely used. The most common family names can be found in the book named 百家姓 (bǎi jiā xìng) ‘The Book of Family Names’. The three most commonly used Chinese surnames are 李 (lǐ), 王 (wáng) and 张 (zhāng).

Chinese given names often have a special meaning for the family, or express characteristics the parents wish their child to have. In ancient China, the first character of a given name would be the ‘generational’ name. This means that all children in a family of the same gender and born in the same generation share the same first character. The second character would be a personality trait. Given names are quite personal, and are only used by good friends and within a setting such as a family, class or office, where there is a well-defined group.

Immediate Family Names

Most of the time, people use kinship terms instead of names when talking to each other.

父亲 (fù qīn) Father

爸爸 (bà ba) Dad

哥哥 (gē ge) Older brother

弟弟 (dì di) Younger brother

母亲 (mǔ qīn) Mother

妈妈 (mā ma) Mum

姐姐 (jiě jie) Older Sister

妹妹 (mèi mei) Younger sister

老婆 (lǎo pó) Wife

老公 (lǎo gōng) Husband

未婚夫 (wèi hūn fū) Fiancé (man who will be married)

未婚妻 (wèi hūn qī) Fiancée (woman who will be married)

男朋友 (nán péng you) Boyfriend

女朋友 (nǚ péng you) Girlfriend

婆婆 (pó po) Mother-in-law (husband’s mother)

公公 (gōng gong) Father-in-law (husband’s mother)

岳母 (yuè mǔ) Mother-in-law (wife’s mother)

岳父 (yuè fù) Father-in-law (wife’s father)

儿子 (ér zi) Son

女儿 (nǚ ér) Daughter

侄女 (zhí nǚ) Niece (brother’s daughter)

甥女 (shēng nǚ) Niece (sister’s daughter)

侄子 (zhí zi) Nephew (brother’s son)

外甥 (wài shēng) Nephew (sister’s son)

孙子 (sūn zi) Grandson (son’s son)

外孙 (wài sūn) Grandson (daughter’s son)

曾孙 (zēng sūn) Great-grandson

孙女 (sūn nǚ) Granddaughter (son’s daughter)

外孙女 (wài sūn nǚ) Granddaughter (daughter’s daughter)

曾孙女 (zēng sūn nǚ) Great-granddaughter

Paternal Family

爷爷 (yé ye) Paternal Grandfather

奶奶 (nǎi nai) Paternal Grandmother

伯伯 (bó bo) Uncle (older brother of father)

伯母 (bó mǔ) Aunt (older brother of father’s wife)

叔叔 (shū shu) Uncle (younger brother of father)

婶婶 (shěn shen) Aunt (younger brother of father’s wife)

姑姑 (gū gu) Aunt (father’s side)

姑父 (gū fu) Uncle (father’s sister’s husband)

堂哥 (táng gē) Older Male Cousin (father’s side)

堂弟 (táng dì) Younger Male Cousin (father’s side)

堂姐 (táng jiě) Older Female Cousin (father’s side)

堂妹 (táng mèi) Younger Female Cousin (father’s side)

Maternal Family

外公 (wài gōng) Maternal Grandfather

外婆 (wài pó) Maternal Grandmother

舅舅 (jiù jiu) Uncle (mother’s side)

舅妈 (jiù mā) Aunt (mother’s brother’s wife)

姨妈 (yí mā) Aunt (mother’s side)

姨父 (yí fu)Uncle (mother’s sister’s husband)

表哥 (biǎo gē) Older Male Cousin (mother’s side)

表弟 (biǎo dì) Younger Male Cousin (mother’s side)

表姐 (biǎo jiě) Older Female Cousin (mother’s side)

表妹 (biǎo mèi) Younger Female Cousin (mother’s side)

If there is more than one uncle who is older or younger in the family, they become 大 (dà) + uncle.

For example, if your father has two older brothers, you would call the eldest brother 大伯 (dà bó), ‘big uncle’ and the next eldest 二伯 (èr bó) ‘2nd uncle’.

Titles

Titles refer to gender, marital status, education, and profession. You would use these titles when introducing your husband or wife at a formal event.

Family name + given name + title

先生 (xiān sheng) Mr.

太太 (tài tai) Mrs.

小姐 (xiǎo jie) Miss

Professional Titles

医生 (yī shēng) Doctor

大夫 (dài fu) Doctor

护士 (hù shi) Nurse

师傅 (shī fu) Master (skilled worker)

老师 (lǎo shī) Teacher

教授 (jiào shòu) Professor

律师 (lǜ shī) Lawyer

法官 (fǎ guān) Judge

主席 (zhǔ xí) Chairperson

校长 (xiào zhǎng) Principal

警察 (jǐng chá) Police officer

秘书 (mì shū) Secretary

主任 (zhǔ rèn) Director of a government department

司机 (sī jī) Driver

总统 (zǒng tǒng) President

经理 (jīng lǐ) Manager

总经理 (zǒng jīng lǐ) General Manager (shortened to 总 (zǒng))

博士 (bó shì) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

Addressing People

Friends and Acquaintances

Close friends would address each other using given names:

[given name], 最近怎么样? (…zuì jìn zěn me yàng) How’re you doing?

Within a family, given names are sometimes replaced with kinship terms, but these can also be used with people who are not relatives.

大哥 (dà gē) Older brother (close to your age, but older)

大姐 (dà jiě) Older sister (close to your age, but older)

叔叔 (shū shu) Uncle (title for a man of around your father’s age)

阿姨 (ā yí) Aunt (title for a woman who is around you mother’s age)

爷爷 (yé ye) Grandfather (title for a man who is around your grandfather’s age)

奶奶 (nǎi nai) Grandmother (title for a woman who is around your grandmother’s age)

Addressing Strangers

Titles are a common way to address people and can be used along without knowing the person’s family name. 先生 (xiān sheng), 太太 (tài tai), 小姐 (xiǎo jie),阿姨 (ā yí), 大爷 (dà ye) and 师傅 (shī fu) can be used to address a stranger.

师傅 (shī fu) and 大爷 (dà ye) are informal terms and can be used in many different contexts, including taxi drivers and maintenance workers. 小姐 (xiǎo jie) would be used to address a young woman in a service job and 阿姨 (ā yí) would be used to address an older one.

It is becoming more common for customers to refer to their servers as 美女 (měi nǚ), meaning ‘beautiful woman’ and occasionally 帅哥 (shuài ge), for ‘handsome guy’ to get the attention of a waiter or shop assistant. In a restaurant, you can also use the term for waiter, 服务员 (fú wù yuán).

xiōng dì

Chinese Definition

brother
1. 名词. （同父母的）兄，弟
2. 名词. （称男性的共事者或同道）同事，弟兄，伙伴
3. 名词. （常大写）（同一宗教团体的男性）教友；（尤指）修士
4. 名词. （黑人男子相互的称呼）兄弟，哥们
5. 名词. （美国）大学生联谊会成员
6. 动词. (及物動詞) 当作兄弟
Components
兄
1. elder brother
2. elder male cousin
堂兄 — father’s brother’s son older than oneself
3. brother (male friend of the same generation)
弟
1. (stroke order)
2. younger brother
3. junior
4. I, me

Translations for 弟 and their definitions

哥哥
1. n. (literally or figuratively) older brother, elder brother, big brother
他 是 我 的 哥哥ge。他 比 我 大 兩 歲。 — He is my elder brother. He is two years older than I.

弟兄
1. n. brothers
2. n. comrades

Pronunciation

xiōng dì

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As someone who married into a Taiwanese family, I speak from experience when I tell you that there is nothing more important than family here. Taiwanese people tend to be close with their families and are often willing to go above and beyond to help out a family member in need.

Family Culture in Taiwan

Three-generation households are still fairly common in Taiwan, which keeps family members especially close and allows them to lean on one another for support. Traditionally, women move into their husband’s family home and live with his parents. Parents often continue to help their sons financially into adulthood and even become the main caregivers for grandchildren while parents are at work.

Likewise, young people are expected to respect their elders and help take care of them as they age. A word that is often used in Mandarin Chinese here is 孝順 (xiàoshùn), which translates to “filial piety.” This word refers to a respect for one’s parents and elders, and is the most fundamental Confucian value. If you take good care of your parents and grandparents, people might say “你很孝順» (nǐ hěn xiàoshùn – you are very filial).

Besides taking care of their elders, a major way that people express respect is by addressing relatives by their proper titles. In North America, we’re used to calling most of our relatives by their first names, but that would be seen as rude in Taiwan, especially when it comes to greeting older relatives. Instead, you should greet them by saying who they are in relation to you. For instance, when I see my husband’s dad’s brother, I nod and say, “叔叔” (shúshu — uncle).

Unfortunately, the names for family members aren’t quite as simple as they are in English. The cultural importance of family is reflected in the language, with each family member having a very specific title. For example, Chinese has eight different words for cousins, depending on the gender of that person, whether they are on your mother’s side or your father’s side of your family, and whether they are older or younger than you.

While memorizing all these different terms can be a bit of a headache, they’ll come in handy if you need to introduce your family members to friends, or even more so if you marry into a Taiwanese family. In addition, some of these family titles are also used as polite or friendly ways to address people who aren’t related to you.

Let’s start with the basics: your immediate family members. These people are who you would usually call your family, or 家人 (jiārén).

English	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese	Pinyin
parents	父母	父母	fùmǔ
father	父親	父亲	fùqīn
dad	爸爸	爸爸	bàba
mother	母親	母亲	mǔqīn
mom	媽媽	妈妈	māma
siblings	兄弟姊妹	兄弟姊妹	xiōngdì jiěmèi
older brother	哥哥	哥哥	gēge
younger brother	弟弟	弟弟	dìdi
older sister	姊姊	姊姊	jiějie
younger sister	妹妹	妹妹	mèimei

Just like in English, father (父親 fùmǔ) and mother (母親 mǔqīn) are more formal words. Most children call their dad 爸爸 (bàba) or, even more casually, 爸 (bà), and call their mom 媽媽 (māma) or simply 媽 (mā). You can also combine these words and say 爸媽 (bàmā) as a casual way to say parents, rather than saying 父母 (fùmǔ).

Extended Family Members or Relatives in Chinese

Beyond your immediate family, you also have relatives, or 親戚 (qīnqì). This is where things get tricky! Let’s start by going up a level on the family tree and looking at how to address grandparents.

How to Say Grandparents in Chinese:

• Paternal grandpa: 爺爺 yéye
  Or:  阿公 āgōng (from the Taiwanese language)
• Paternal grandma: 奶奶 nǎi nai
  Or:  阿嬤 āmà (from Taiwanese)
• Maternal grandpa: 外公 wàigōng
• Maternal grandma: 外婆 wàipó

Notice that the Chinese terms for maternal grandparents both start with the character 外 (wài), meaning “outside.” In Chinese culture, the family unit is traditionally based around the father and his surname, so the mother’s relatives are considered to be “outside” of the family.

Grandparents also address their daughter’s children according to this naming system. So, for their daughter’s children, they would call their grandson 外孫 (wàisūn) and their granddaughter 外孫女 (wàisūnnǚ). In comparison, their son’s children would be called 孫子 (sūnzi) and 孫女 (sūnnǚ).

How to Say Uncle & Aunt in Chinese:

There are quite a few different words for aunt and uncle, depending on which side of the family they are from and whether they are the younger or older sibling. Below are the terms that are usually used in Taiwan.

Uncle:

• Father’s older brother: 伯父 bófù
• Father’s younger brother: 叔叔 shúshu
• Father’s sister’s husband: 姑丈 gūzhàng
• Mother’s brother: 舅舅 jiùjiu
• Mother’s sister’s husband: 姨丈 yízhàng

Aunt:

• Father’s sister: 姑姑 gūgu
• Father’s brother’s wife: 嬸嬸 shěnshen
• Mother’s sister: 姨媽 yímā
  Or:  阿姨 āyí
• Mother’s brother’s wife: 舅媽 jiùmā

How to Say Cousin in Chinese:

If you thought there were a lot of words for aunt and uncle in Chinese, wait ‘til you see the list for cousin! Thankfully, there is a clear pattern to these terms, so they aren’t too hard to memorize.

The terms for cousins on your father’s side all start with the character 堂(táng) followed by the word for older/younger brother or sister, depending on the cousin’s gender and whether they are older or younger than you.

So…

• 堂哥 tánggē  =  older male cousin on dad’s side
• 堂弟 tángdì  =  younger male cousin on dad’s side
• 堂姊  tángjiě  = older female cousin on dad’s side
• 堂妹 tángmèi = younger female cousin on dad’s side

For cousins on your mother’s side, the terms follow the same pattern, but they all start with the character 表 (biǎo).

So…

• 表哥 biǎogē  =  older male cousin on mom’s side
• 表弟 biǎodì  =  younger male cousin on mom’s side
• 表姊  biǎojiě  = older female cousin on mom’s side
• 表妹 biǎomèi = younger female cousin on mom’s side

Starting Your Own Family

If you get married to a Taiwanese person and start your own family, you’ll probably also want to know how to introduce them!

How to say wife in Chinese:

• 妻子 qīzi is a more formal but also a more respectable term
• 太太  tàitài
  This word also means “Mrs.” and can be used in front of a woman’s husband’s surname. For example, 張太太 (Zhāng tàitài) = Mrs. Chang (Chang is her husband’s surname.)
• 老婆 lǎopó
  This word is more colloquial and affectionate and used to talk about one’s own wife with close friends “我老婆說…”, or even to address one’s own wife directly in which case the second syllable is pronounced drawn out longer.

How to say husband in Chinese:

• 丈夫 zhàngfū
• 先生 xiānshēng
  This word also means “Mr.” It can be used as a title for married or non-married men.
• 老公 lǎogōng
  This word is more colloquial and affectionate and used to talk about one’s own husband with close friends “我老公說…”, or even to address one’s own husband directly, again, with the second syllable drawn out longer.

How to say children in Chinese:

• 孩子 háizi = children
• 兒子  érzi = son
• 女兒 nǚ’ér = daughter

Addressing Others as Family Members

In Chinese, it’s common to use the words for family members to address others as well. Talking to others as if they are family makes people feel closer. When addressing elders, this is a sign of respect.

The word “uncle” (叔叔 shúshu) can be used for talking about older men, while the word “auntie” (阿姨 āyí) can be used for older women. The words “older brother” (哥哥 gēge) and “older sister” (姊姊 jiějie) are also often used to express affection to people who are slightly older, especially by children. When using any of these terms for elders, make sure that the person you are addressing is near the age (or older than) your actual aunts/uncles. Otherwise, people might be offended and think you are calling them old!

When learning and using these words for family members, it’s important to take cultural context into consideration. Many of the Chinese words for family members don’t exist in English, or they aren’t used in the same way. Since family is such a central part of Chinese and Taiwanese culture, it’s important to learn about these words and the ideas behind them. With this knowledge and vocabulary, you’ll be well-equipped to handle any family situation in Taiwan!

To learn more Chinese, check out Glossika! Glossika’s audio-based training improves your listening and speaking at native speed. Sign up and start your 7-day free trial:

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Read more!

1. Differences Between Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese
2. How to Express Affection in Chinese: from «You’re Pretty» to «Will You Marry Me?»
3. Make the Right Word Choice When Speaking Chinese
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