Chinese Family Tree
Why "cousin" is eight different words: every family member in Chinese, grouped and with audio.
Immediate family
dad
mom
older brother
younger brother
older sister
younger sister
husband
wife
son
daughter
Grandparents & grandchildren
grandfather (father's side)
grandmother (father's side)
grandfather (mother's side)
grandmother (mother's side)
grandson (son's son)
granddaughter (son's daughter)
grandson (daughter's son)
granddaughter (daughter's daughter)
Uncles & aunts
father's older brother
father's younger brother
father's sister
mother's brother
mother's sister
wife of father's younger brother
wife of mother's brother
husband of father's sister
Cousins
older male cousin (father's brother's son)
younger male cousin (father's brother's son)
older female cousin (father's brother's daughter)
younger female cousin (father's brother's daughter)
older male cousin (all other cousins)
younger male cousin (all other cousins)
older female cousin (all other cousins)
younger female cousin (all other cousins)
In-laws, nephews & nieces
husband's father
husband's mother
wife's father
wife's mother
older brother's wife
older sister's husband
nephew (brother's son)
nephew (sister's son)
Chinese kinship terms encode three things English ignores: which side of the family, relative age, and whether the link passes through a man or a woman. That is why "uncle" is five different words — 伯伯 for father's older brother, 叔叔 for his younger brother, 舅舅 for mother's brother — and why "cousin" splits into eight, with 堂 cousins (father's brother's children, same surname) distinguished from 表 cousins (everyone else).
The system feels enormous until you spot the logic: 外 ("outer") marks the mother's side — 外公 and 外婆 are the maternal grandparents. Age relative to *you* (哥/弟, 姐/妹) or to *your parent* (伯/叔) does the rest. Search any relation above, listen to it, and practice — these doubled syllables (māma, yéye, jiùjiu) are neutral-tone practice in disguise.
Why does Chinese have so many words for cousin?
Cousins are split by paternal/maternal line, gender and age: 堂哥 / 堂弟 / 堂姐 / 堂妹 share your surname (father's brother's children); 表哥 / 表弟 / 表姐 / 表妹 cover all other cousins.
What does 外 mean in 外公 and 外婆?
Literally "outer" — traditional kinship treats the mother's side as outside the paternal family line, so maternal grandparents take the 外 prefix.
What do I call family members older than me?
Never by name. Use the kinship term itself — 哥, 姐, 叔叔, 阿姨 — which also extends to strangers: any woman of your mother's age can politely be 阿姨.
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