Families
Family
Family is very important in China.
wǒ de mā ma / 我 的 妈 妈 - my mum
wǒ de bà ba / 我 的 爸 爸 - my dad
There are different words for older and younger siblings (brothers and sisters).
wǒ de jiě jie / 我 的 姐 姐 - my older sister
wǒ de mèi mei / 我 的 妹 妹 - my younger sister
wǒ de gē ge / 我 的 哥 哥 - my elder brother
wǒ de dì di / 我 的 弟 弟 - my younger brother
Chinese nouns don't have a PLURAL form. So the word for 'brother' is the SAME as the word for 'brothers'.
To say you have a brother you use the word for 'one' - yí / 一.
wǒ yǒu yí gè gē ge / 我 有 一 个 哥哥 - I have an older brother. (I have one older brother.)
wǒ yǒu yí gè mèi mei / 我 有 一 个 妹 妹 - I have a younger sister. (I have one younger sister.)
wǒ yǒu liǎng gè dì di / 我 有 两 个 弟 弟 - I have two younger brothers.
wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiě jie / 我 有 两 个 姐 姐 - I have two older sisters.
Did you notice that the words for 'I' and 'my' are the same? They are both wǒ / 我.
Here are some more words to help talk about your family:
wǒ de jiā / 我 的 家 - my family
wǒ de bà ba mā ma / 我 的 爸 爸 妈 妈 - my parents
In China, grandparents on different sides have different names.
wài gōng / 外 公 - grandad (mother's side)
wài pó / 外 婆 - grandma (mother‘s side)
yé ye / 爷 爷 - grandad (father’s side)
nǎi nai / 奶 奶 - grandma (father’s side)
To introduce your family you use zhè shì / 这 是
zhè shì / 这 是 - This is ...
zhè shì wǒ de wài gōng / 这 是 我 的 外 公 - This my grandad (mother's side).
zhè shì wǒ de wài pó / 这 是 我 的 外 婆 - This is my grandma (mother's side).
