Chinese Family Relationship Calculator

Who is your mother’s brother? Follow the family links to find what to call a relative in Mandarin and Hong Kong Cantonese.

Start with yourself

Looking it up for a child? “Me” means the child. Each next step is relative to the person you just chose.

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Text readings only; recordings are not included. When age is unknown, keep all possible terms until you know which fits.

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Printable Chinese Family Tree for Kids

A free three-generation learning chart: four grandparents, two parents, and “Me”. Labels describe relationships; no real family details are needed.

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In the print dialog, turn off headers and footers. Only the chart prints. You can also use your browser’s Print command.

My Chinese Family Tree

Mandarin · Pinyin · Simplified Chinese

Father’s side

爷爷yé yefather’s father

奶奶nǎi naifather’s mother

爸爸bà bafather

Mother’s side

外公wài gōngmother’s father

外婆wài pómother’s mother

妈妈mā mamother

我wǒMe / child

Read from “Me” upwards. Father’s side and mother’s side have different grandparent names.

Hanzi Sheets · hanzisheets.com/tools/chinese-family-calculator
Family usage varies. Pinyin: phrase-pinyin-data. Jyutping: CanCLID / Rime Cantonese (CC BY 4.0), selected and modified. Full sources and licenses are on the tool page.

Practice writing these six family terms. This opens the existing generator; its normal Free and Pro limits apply. Worksheets use pinyin or zhuyin, not Jyutping.

52 Chinese Family Members & Kinship Terms

Compare both sides of the family, sibling age and cousin relationships. Mandarin uses common Mainland forms; Cantonese shows Hong Kong usage in Traditional characters. Simplified and Traditional Mandarin are both listed.

On a small screen, scroll the table sideways. All 52 entries were compared with the cited dictionaries. The site owner confirmed 17 entries on 2026-10-16; the other 35 have source comparisons only, without individual human review. No independent language-expert review is claimed. Everyday speech may change tones.

52 terms · Mandarin (Simplified / Traditional) · Hong Kong Cantonese
Relationship	Mandarin / Pinyin	Cantonese / Jyutping	When to use it
father	爸爸爸爸bà ba	阿爸aa3 baa4	Father.
mother	妈妈媽媽mā ma	阿媽aa3 maa1	Mother.
father’s father	爷爷爺爺yé ye	爺爺je4 je2	Father’s father.
father’s mother	奶奶奶奶nǎi nai	嫲嫲maa4 maa4	Father’s mother. Mandarin 奶奶 means paternal grandmother; Hong Kong Cantonese 奶奶 means husband’s mother.
mother’s father	外公外公wài gōngAlso 姥爷 (lǎo ye): Northern Mandarin.	公公gung4 gung1	Mother’s father. Cantonese 公公 means maternal grandfather here; Mandarin 公公 means husband’s father.
mother’s mother	外婆外婆wài póAlso 姥姥 (lǎo lao): Northern Mandarin.	婆婆po4 po2	Mother’s mother. Cantonese 婆婆 means maternal grandmother here; Mandarin 婆婆 means husband’s mother.
older brother	哥哥哥哥gē ge	阿哥aa3 go1	Older brother. Age distinction: older than you.
younger brother	弟弟弟弟dì di	細佬sai3 lou2	Younger brother. Age distinction: younger than you.
older sister	姐姐姐姐jiě jie	家姐gaa1 ze1	Older sister. Age distinction: older than you.
younger sister	妹妹妹妹mèi mei	細妹sai3 mui2	Younger sister. Age distinction: younger than you.
husband	丈夫丈夫zhàng fu	老公lou5 gung1	Husband.
wife	妻子妻子qī zi	老婆lou5 po4	Wife.
son	儿子兒子ér zi	阿仔aa3 zai2	Son.
daughter	女儿女兒nǚ ér	阿女aa3 neoi2	Daughter.
father’s older brother	伯父伯父bó fùAlso 伯伯 (bó bo): Common Mandarin.	伯父baak3 fu6	Father’s older brother. Age distinction: older than father.
father’s younger brother	叔叔叔叔shū shu	叔叔suk1 suk1	Father’s younger brother. Age distinction: younger than father.
father’s older sister	姑姑姑姑gū gu	姑媽gu1 maa1	Father’s older sister. Age distinction: older than father. Mandarin 姑姑 can cover either age; Hong Kong usage distinguishes 姑媽 and 姑姐.
father’s younger sister	姑姑姑姑gū gu	姑姐gu1 ze1	Father’s younger sister. Age distinction: younger than father. Mandarin 姑姑 can cover either age; Hong Kong usage distinguishes 姑媽 and 姑姐.
mother’s brother	舅舅舅舅jiù jiu	舅父kau5 fu2	Mother’s brother. Age distinction: either older or younger than mother.
mother’s older sister	姨妈姨媽yí mā	姨媽ji4 maa1	Mother’s older sister. Age distinction: older than mother. Mandarin 姨妈 is used here for either age; Hong Kong usage commonly distinguishes 姨媽 and 阿姨.
mother’s younger sister	姨妈姨媽yí mā	阿姨aa3 ji1	Mother’s younger sister. Age distinction: younger than mother. Mandarin 姨妈 is used here for either age; Hong Kong usage commonly distinguishes 姨媽 and 阿姨.
wife of father’s older brother	伯母伯母bó mǔ	伯娘baak3 noeng4	Wife of father’s older brother. Age distinction: uncle is older than father.
wife of father’s younger brother	婶婶嬸嬸shěn shen	嬸嬸sam2 sam2	Wife of father’s younger brother. Age distinction: uncle is younger than father.
husband of father’s sister	姑父姑父gū fù	姑丈gu1 zoeng2	Husband of father’s sister.
wife of mother’s brother	舅妈舅媽jiù mā	舅母kau5 mou5	Wife of mother’s brother.
husband of mother’s sister	姨父姨父yí fù	姨丈ji4 zoeng2	Husband of mother’s sister.
older brother’s wife	嫂子嫂子sǎo zi	阿嫂aa3 sou2	Older brother’s wife. Age distinction: brother is older than you.
younger brother’s wife	弟媳弟媳dì xí	弟婦dai6 fu5	Younger brother’s wife. Age distinction: brother is younger than you.
older sister’s husband	姐夫姐夫jiě fu	姐夫ze2 fu1	Older sister’s husband. Age distinction: sister is older than you.
younger sister’s husband	妹夫妹夫mèi fu	妹夫mui6 fu1	Younger sister’s husband. Age distinction: sister is younger than you.
older male cousin: father’s brother’s son	堂哥堂哥táng gē	堂大佬tong4 daai6 lou2	Older male cousin: father’s brother’s son. Age distinction: older than you. 堂 is used for children of father’s brothers; cousin age is relative to you.
younger male cousin: father’s brother’s son	堂弟堂弟táng dì	堂細佬tong4 sai3 lou2	Younger male cousin: father’s brother’s son. Age distinction: younger than you. 堂 is used for children of father’s brothers; cousin age is relative to you.
older female cousin: father’s brother’s daughter	堂姐堂姐táng jiě	堂家姐tong4 gaa1 ze1	Older female cousin: father’s brother’s daughter. Age distinction: older than you. 堂 is used for children of father’s brothers; cousin age is relative to you.
younger female cousin: father’s brother’s daughter	堂妹堂妹táng mèi	堂細妹tong4 sai3 mui2	Younger female cousin: father’s brother’s daughter. Age distinction: younger than you. 堂 is used for children of father’s brothers; cousin age is relative to you.
older male cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s son	表哥表哥biǎo gē	表哥biu2 go1	Older male cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s son. Age distinction: older than you. 表 includes father’s sisters’ children and all mother’s siblings’ children.
younger male cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s son	表弟表弟biǎo dì	表弟biu2 dai2	Younger male cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s son. Age distinction: younger than you. 表 includes father’s sisters’ children and all mother’s siblings’ children.
older female cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s daughter	表姐表姐biǎo jiě	表姐biu2 ze2	Older female cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s daughter. Age distinction: older than you. 表 includes father’s sisters’ children and all mother’s siblings’ children.
younger female cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s daughter	表妹表妹biǎo mèi	表妹biu2 mui2	Younger female cousin: father’s sister’s or mother’s sibling’s daughter. Age distinction: younger than you. 表 includes father’s sisters’ children and all mother’s siblings’ children.
brother’s son (nephew)	侄子姪子zhí zi	姪仔zat6 zai2	Brother’s son (nephew).
brother’s daughter (niece)	侄女姪女zhí nǚ	姪女zat6 neoi2	Brother’s daughter (niece).
sister’s son (nephew)	外甥外甥wài shēng	外甥ngoi6 sang1	Sister’s son (nephew).
sister’s daughter (niece)	外甥女外甥女wài shēng nǚ	外甥女ngoi6 sang1 neoi2	Sister’s daughter (niece).
son’s son (grandson)	孙子孫子sūn zi	孫仔syun1 zai2	Son’s son (grandson).
son’s daughter (granddaughter)	孙女孫女sūn nǚ	孫女syun1 neoi2	Son’s daughter (granddaughter).
daughter’s son (grandson)	外孙外孫wài sūn	外孫ngoi6 syun1	Daughter’s son (grandson).
daughter’s daughter (granddaughter)	外孙女外孫女wài sūn nǚ	外孫女ngoi6 syun1 neoi2	Daughter’s daughter (granddaughter).
father’s father’s father	曾祖父曾祖父zēng zǔ fù	太爺taai3 je4	Father’s father’s father. This entry covers only the stated paternal path; other great-grandparent branches are not interchangeable.
father’s father’s mother	曾祖母曾祖母zēng zǔ mǔ	太嫲taai3 maa4	Father’s father’s mother. This entry covers only the stated paternal path; other great-grandparent branches are not interchangeable.
husband’s father	公公公公gōng gong	老爺lou5 je4	Husband’s father.
husband’s mother	婆婆婆婆pó po	奶奶naai4 naai2	Husband’s mother.
wife’s father	岳父岳父yuè fù	岳父ngok6 fu6	Wife’s father.
wife’s mother	岳母岳母yuè mǔ	岳母ngok6 mou5	Wife’s mother.

Understanding Chinese family terms

How do you say “grandma” in Chinese?

In Mandarin, your father’s mother is 奶奶 (nǎi nai); your mother’s mother is 外婆 (wài pó), also called 姥姥 (lǎo lao) in Northern Mandarin. In Hong Kong Cantonese, they are 嫲嫲 (maa4 maa4) and 婆婆 (po4 po2). Cantonese 奶奶 refers to a husband’s mother, so the same written word does not always mean the same relative.

Why are there different words for uncle and aunt?

Mandarin distinguishes a father’s older brother (伯父), younger brother (叔叔), and a mother’s brother (舅舅). Father’s sisters are 姑姑; mother’s sisters are 姨妈. In Hong Kong Cantonese, a father’s older sister is commonly 姑媽, and his younger sister 姑姐. A mother’s older sister is commonly 姨媽, and her younger sister 阿姨. Family preferences vary.

What is the difference between 堂 and 表 cousins?

Children of your father’s brothers are 堂 cousins. Children of your father’s sisters or any of your mother’s siblings are 表 cousins. 哥 / 姐 means the cousin is older than you; 弟 / 妹 means younger. A parent’s age does not determine a cousin’s age, so the calculator shows both candidates when needed.

How do you say niece or nephew in Mandarin?

A brother’s daughter is 侄女 (zhí nǚ), and his son is 侄子 (zhí zi). A sister’s daughter is 外甥女 (wài shēng nǚ), and her son is 外甥 (wài shēng). These distinctions describe the family link rather than the child’s name.

What if the calculator has no pronunciation entry?

The relationship algorithm covers more paths than this 52-entry reference. An unlisted result is shown in Chinese with an explicit missing-data note. No reading, translation or audio is invented. An unsupported chain says “暂无此称谓数据” (no term found). This is a traditional kinship model; adoptive, step-family and other family-specific terms need a separate check.

Does the calculator need an internet connection?

After the local code and vocabulary have loaded, calculations continue without a connection. First-time offline access is not supported. There are no recordings in this version, and no family data is stored. Optional analytics is loaded only under the site’s existing consent logic.

Sources, regional choices & corrections

Relationship calculation uses mumuy/relationship 1.2.9, by Haole Zheng (MIT license), served locally.

Jyutping comes from Rime Cantonese by CanCLID, under CC BY 4.0 (full license). Modified here by selecting readings, pairing character forms and composing the explicitly marked entry 外孫女 from cited parts. This does not imply CanCLID’s endorsement.

Pinyin uses selected records from phrase-pinyin-data by mozillazg and contributors (upstream MIT license), with lexical neutral-tone choices recorded for review. Numbered pinyin uses 5 for a neutral tone. See the modifications and underlying-source notes and per-term source records and review status.

These are learning references, not a promise that all families use identical words. No independent human review or audio listening review is claimed. For a correction, contact [email protected] with the term and region; please leave out real family details.