Mandarin: Talking about family

Family (家庭 Jiā tíng) has always been very important in Chinese culture.

During the Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese people make every effort to travel home and reunite with their family.

The words for your parents in Mandarin are quite simple:

• 爸爸 bà ba - father

• 妈妈 mā ma - mother

• 爸爸妈妈 bà ba mā ma - parents

In Mandarin, there are two options for sister and two for brother, depending on whether they are older or younger than you.

In Mandarin, different words are used to describe the grandparents who are your father’s parents and the grandparents who are your mother’s parents.

The same is true for all other relatives too, eg uncles, aunts and cousins.

‘口 Kǒu’ is the measure word used in Mandarin when talking about the number of members in a family - it literally means 'a mouth'.

To ask about someone’s family in Mandarin, you can say:

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

To answer in Mandarin, you could say:

我家有四口人。 Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén - There are four people in my family

You can switch out four (四 sì) for any other number, eg one ( 一 yī), three ( 三 sān) etc except for ‘two’.

When you want to say you have two of something in Mandarin, you don’t use 二 èr (two).

Instead, you use the Mandarin word 两 liǎng.

You can also use the phrase 我有 Wǒ yǒu (I have) in Mandarin:

• 我有一个哥哥 Wǒ yǒu yī gè gē ge - I have one older brother

• 我有两个妹妹 Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè mèi mei - I have two younger sisters

Did you know?

To introduce a family member, you can use 这是 Zhè shì (This is) with the particle ‘ 的 de’ to express possession.

So, to introduce your mother, you would say:

这是我的妈妈 Zhè shì wǒ de mā ma - This is my mother

(Sometimes de is left out when talking about family and friends, so you can also say 这是我妈妈 Zhè shì wǒ mā ma)

Now you've learnt how to talk about your family in Mandarin, let's put it into a conversation!

(Two people are holding pictures of their families)

Caleb: 这是我妈妈. 这是我哥哥. 他叫Alex. 他十岁.

Zhè shì wǒ māma. Zhè shì wǒ gēge. Tā jiào Alex. Tā shí suì.

This is my mum. This is my big brother. He’s called Alex. He’s ten.

Zoha: 我认识Alex. 他是我姐姐的朋友. 这是我姐姐. 他叫Amina.

Wǒ rènshi Alex. Tā shì wǒ jiějie de péngyǒu. Zhè shì wǒ jiějie. Tā jiào Amina.

I know Alex. He is my big sister’s friend. This is my big sister. She’s called Amina.

Caleb: Amina 几岁?

Amina jǐ suì?

How old is Amina?

Zoha: 她十一岁… 那是谁?

Tā shí yī suì… Nà shì shéi?

She's eleven… (pointing at Caleb's picture) Who is that?

Caleb: 那是我弟弟. 他叫Nathan. 他很可爱.

Nà shì wǒ dìdi. Tā jiào Nathan. Tā hěn kě'ài.

That is my little brother. He is called Nathan. He's very cute.

Why not practise what you've learnt by reading Little Red Riding Hood in Mandarin.