Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Chinese Top Words. My name is Rui. Today, we are going to learn 15 must know family words in Chinese. Are you ready? Let’s go!
1. 家人 (jiārén) “family”
The first one is - 家人 (jiārén) “family”.
这是我家人的合照。 (Zhè shì wǒ jiārén de hézhào.) “This is a family picture of mine.”
2. 父亲 (fùqīn) “father”
我的父亲今年已经七十岁了。 (Wǒ de fùqin jīnnián yǐjīng qīshí suì le.) “My father is already 70 years old this year.”
But generally, we do not say this word. We always say dad which is papa or 爸爸 (bàba). 父亲 (Fùqīn) is more like written languages. It sounds more like unnatural if you really say it in the daily life.
3. 丈夫 (zhàngfu) “husband”
你的丈夫是做什么的？ (Nǐ de zhàngfu shì zuò shénme de?) “What does your husband do?”
Like as far as I’m concerned, we have many words for husband like 老公 (lāogōng), 爱人 (àiren), 先生 (xiānsheng). 先生 (Xiānsheng) is the most official one like 你的先生是做什么的？ (Nǐ de xiānsheng shì zuò shénme de?), the most official one.
For the person you first meet - 爱人是做什么的？ (Àiren shì zuò shénme de?)
爱人 (Àiren) is kind of neutral language. It can refer to your husband or your wife, 爱人 (àiren). 老公 (Lāogōng) is more like spoken, it’s more casual way.
4. 儿子 (érzi) “son”
你儿子在哪个学校上学？ (Nǐ érzi zài nǎ ge xuéxiào shàngxué?) “Which school does your son go to?”
Yeah, we actually ask that question very often.
5. 兄弟 (xiōngdi) “brother”
我有两个兄弟，一个哥哥，一个弟弟。 (Wǒ yǒu liǎng ge xiōngdi, yí ge gēge, yí ge dìdi.) “I have two brothers, one older brother and one younger brother.”
Oh, it sounds cool.
6. 叔叔 (shūshu) “uncle”
这是我叔叔住的地方。 (Zhè shì wǒ shūshu zhù de dìfang.) “This is the place where my uncle lives.”
叔叔 (Shūshu) is very commonly used when I was a kid. Anybody who is older or even younger, about my parent’s age, I will call 叔叔 (shūshu).
7. 爷爷 (yéye) “grandfather”
我的爷爷以前是一位中医。 (Wǒ de yéye yǐqián shì yí wèi zhōngyī.) “My grandfather was a practitioner of Chinese medicine.”
8. 岳父 (yuèfù) “father-in-law”
他的岳父对他很满意。 (Tā de yuèfù duì tā hěn mǎnyì.) “His father-in-law is really happy with him.”
In China, especially before you marry, as a man, you show great, great, great respect for your future father-in-law and sometimes, you do not always say 岳父 (yuèfù), you will say 岳父大人(yuèfù dàren). It’s like my dear “respected father-in-law”, 岳父大人 (yuèfù dàren). It’s kind of funny, but you can see like how much effort you should devout into building a good relationship with your future father-in-law to get agreement for marriage.
9. 母亲 (mǔqīn) “mother”
今天是祖国母亲的生日。 (Jīntiān shì zǔguó mǔqīn de shēngrì.) “Today is the birthday of my mother.”
Do you remember your mother’s birthday?
10. 女儿 (nǚ'ér) “daughter”
俗话说，女儿是妈妈的小棉袄。 (Súhuà shuō, nǚér shì māma de xiǎo miánǎo.) “This is an idiom meaning that daughters are always loving, warm, and protective of their mothers, like a coat.”
11. 妹妹 (mèimei) “younger sister”
他两岁的妹妹非常可爱。 (Tā liǎng suì de mèimei fēicháng kěài.) “His two-year-old little sister is very cute.”
妹妹 (mèimei) in Chinese, same as what I have already mentioned like “uncle” 叔叔 (shūshu). It’s more like a general tone. Even I can call like a little girl like five-year-old or six-year-old, I can say - 小妹妹 (xiǎo mèimei). It sounds intimate or you can refer it to your cousin.
12. 妻子 (qīzǐ) “wife”
她是一个贴心的妻子。 (Tā shì yí wèi tiěxīn de qīzi.) “She is a considerate wife.”
13. 岳母 (yuèmǔ) “mother-in-law”
我的岳母身体很好。 (Wǒ de yuèmǔ shēntǐ hěn hǎo) “My mother-in-law is very healthy.”
14. 奶奶 (nǎinai) “grandmother”
我很想我的奶奶。 (Wǒ hěn xiǎng wǒ de nǎinai.) “I miss my grandmother so much.”
15. 配偶 (pèiǒu) “partner”
请填写您配偶的姓名。 (Qǐng tiánxiě nín pèiǒu de xìngmíng.) “Please fill in the full name of your partner.”
Thank you for watching today’s Top Chinese Words. Don’t forget to subscribe and let us know what you want to learn about family and is there any other words you want to learn in Chinese about family? I will be waiting for you next time. Bye!

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