How to use the Chinese kinship terms calculator
- Choose your gender. Some terms depend on it: your spouse's father is 岳父 (yuèfù) if you are a man, but 公公 (gōnggong) if you are a woman.
- Starting from yourself, tap each link in order. To find out what to call your mother's younger sister's husband, tap Mother → Younger sister → Husband.
- The result shows the Chinese term in simplified characters (and traditional, if different), its pinyin, an English explanation, and what that relative calls you. Tap 🔊 to hear it.
- If a term depends on age, such as older or younger cousin, tap Older (+) or Younger (−) for the exact word.
Why Chinese has so many words for relatives
English uses “uncle” for four different people. Chinese gives each one its own word, telling you at once which side of the family they are on, whether they are older or younger than your parent, and whether they are related by blood or by marriage:
| Relative | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Father's older brother | 伯父 | bófù |
| Father's younger brother | 叔叔 | shūshu |
| Mother's brother | 舅舅 | jiùjiu |
| Husband of father's sister | 姑父 / 姑丈 | gūfu / gūzhàng |
| Husband of mother's sister | 姨父 / 姨丈 | yífu / yízhàng |
堂 vs 表: two kinds of cousins
A simple rule: 堂 (táng) cousins usually share your surname, 表 (biǎo) cousins usually don't. Children of your father's brothers are 堂 cousins; children of your father's sisters and of your mother's siblings are 表 cousins. Add 兄, 弟, 姐 or 妹 for older/younger male/female: 堂兄 is an older male cousin on your father's side, 表妹 a younger female cousin on the other branches.
Tips on pronunciation
Many family words repeat a syllable, and the second one is spoken with a light, neutral tone: 爸爸 bàba, 哥哥 gēge, 姐姐 jiějie. Words ending in 子 also use a neutral tone, as in 孙子 sūnzi (grandson). Regional habits vary too: northern Chinese often call maternal grandparents 姥爷 and 姥姥 (lǎoye, lǎolao), while southerners say 外公 and 外婆.