| <Chinese Learning> Introduce your relatives | |
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| Apr 6, 2007 01:43 |   |
 | Big family is Chinese tradition. It's quite confusing for many Chinese learners because there are many different appellations. Now I'd like to expalin: 父母(Fu 4 Mu 3) /爸妈(Ba 4 Ma 1)= Parents 父 means Father, 母 means Mother. 爸 means Dad, 妈 means Mum. So 父母 is more formal and 爸妈 is quite informal. When introducing our parents formally, we can say 他们是我的父母(Ta 1 Men 1 Shi 4 Wo 3 De 1 Fu 4 Mu 3) =They are my parents. 他们 means They, 是 means Is/Are/Am, 我的 means My. If it's just an informal introduction, we may say 这是我爸妈(Zhe 4 Shi 4 Wo 3 Ba 4 Ma 1)=This is my dad and mum.这是 means This is, and 我 should be 我的 here, but 的 is omitted. |
| Apr 6, 2007 01:54 | #1 |
| 丈夫(Zhang 4 Fu1)/妻子(Qi 1 Zi 3)＝Husband/Wife There are many other ways to say 丈夫 and 妻子, but this is the most common and formal one now. Another common way is to say 老公(Lao 3 Gong 1) and 老婆(Lao 3 Po 2), which is quite informal. While talking to some traditional people, they may use 外子(Wai 4 Zi 3) and 内子(Nei 4 Zi 3) to address Husband and Wife. 外 means Outside, Outside the house, while 内 means Inside, Inside the house. According to my own understanding, 外子 and 内子 indicated the traditional Chinese thought that men should work outside and earn money to support the family while women should stay at home and take care the family. |
| Apr 6, 2007 02:09 | #2 |
| 儿子(Er 2 Zi)/女儿(Nv 3 Er 2)=Son/Daughter When introduce your son or daughter, you can say 这是(Zhe 4 Shi 4)我(Wo 3)儿子/女儿, which means This is my son/daughter. 女儿 also can be changed to 闺女(Gui 1 Nv 3), which also means daughter in this sentence. But 闺女 is more frequently used in north China. What if you have a son-in-law or daughter-in-law? Son-in-law is called 女婿(Nv 3 Xu 4) in Chinese and daughter-in-law is called 媳妇(Xi 2 Fu 4) or 儿媳妇(Er 2 Xi 2 Fu 4). Please pay attention that 媳妇 also can be used to address your wife. So 儿媳妇(儿 means the son, so this means the son's wife) is better. |
| Apr 6, 2007 02:26 | #3 |
| 兄(Xiong 1)弟(Di 4)姐(Jie 3)妹(Mei 4)=brothers and sisters 兄 means the elder brother, which is often used with other characters such as 兄长(Xiong 1 Zhang 3), 兄弟(Xiong 1 Di 4). 兄长 is a formal way to address one's elder brother. Informally, 哥哥(Ge 1 Ge) or 哥 is enough to call your elder brother. 弟 or 弟弟 means the younger brother, so 兄弟 means brothers. What's more, 兄弟 also means very close friends, whom consider each other as brothers. North China people also like to say 哥们儿(Ge 1 Men1 Er) which has the similar meaning. 姐 means the elder sister while 妹 means the younger sister. One can also say 姐姐, 妹妹 to call the sisters. Close friends between girls also can be called 姐妹, which means they are as good as sisters. |
| Apr 6, 2007 11:15 | #4 |
| Hey May, Can you send me the Chinese font's using for these post. |
| Apr 8, 2007 20:38 | #5 |
| Hi Sharif, I'm not very sure about your problem. You want me to send you the pictures of these characters?? Or? |
| Apr 8, 2007 22:54 | #6 |
| Other relatives: 爷爷(Ye 2 Ye), your father's father. 奶奶(Nai 3 Nai), your father's mother. 外公(Wai 4 Gong 1), your mother's father. 外婆(Wai 4 Po 2), your mother's mother. 公公(Gong 1 Gong), the way to address your husband's father. 婆婆(Po 2 Po), the way to call your husband's mother. 岳父(Yue 4 Fu 4), to call your wife's father. 岳母(Yue 4 Mu 3), to call your wife's mother. The above mentioned is often changed to 爸爸 and 妈妈 now. 伯父(Bo 2 Fu 4)/伯伯(Bo 2 Bo), your father's elder brother. 伯母(Bo 2 Mu 3), your father's elder brother's wife. 叔父(Shu 1 Fu 4)/叔叔(Shu 1 Shu), your father's younger brother. 婶婶(Shen 3 Shen), your father's younger brother's wife The latter one mentioned above is more informal. Besides, these kinds of title also can be used to address those who are around the age of your father to show your respect to others. 舅父(Jiu 4 Fu 4)/舅舅(Jiu 4 Jiu), your mother's brother. The latter one is more informal. 舅母(Jiu 4 Mu 3)/舅妈(Jiu 4 Ma 1), your mother's brother's wife. The latter one is more informal. 姨妈(Yi 2 Ma 2)/姨(Yi 2), your mother's elder sister/younger sister. 姨父(Yi 2 Fu 4), your mother's sister's husband. |
| Apr 8, 2007 23:06 | #7 |
| 嫂子(Sao 3 Zi 1), your elder brother's wife. 姐夫(Jie 3 Fu 1), your elder sister's husband. 弟妹(Di 4 Mei 4), your younger brother's wife. 妹夫(Mei 4 Fu 1), your younger sister's husband. 表兄(Biao 3 Xiong 1)/弟(Di 4)/姐(Jie 3)/妹(Mei 4), your cousins in your father's family. 堂兄(Tang 2 Xiong 1)/弟(Di 4)/姐(Jie 3)/妹(Mei 4), your cousins in your mother's family. |
| Apr 8, 2007 23:10 | #8 |
| 大舅(Da 4 Jiu 4)/小舅(Xiao 3 Jiu 4), or 大舅子/小舅子, the way you call your wife's elder brother/younger brother. 大姨姐(Da 4 Yi 2 Jie 3)/小姨子(Xiao 3 Yi 2 Zi), the way to call your wife's elder sister/younger sister. 大伯(Da 4 Bo 2)/小叔(Xiao 3 Shu 1), the way you call your husband's elder brother/younger brother. 大姑姐(Da 4 Gu 1 Jie 3)/小姑子(Xiao 3 Gu 1 Zi), the way to call your husband's elder sister/younger sister. One may also call them simply by using 姐(Jie 3)/妹(Mei 4)/哥(Ge 1)/弟(Di 4) according to the age. |
| Apr 8, 2007 23:13 | #9 |
| Actually, there are also mamy other traditional titles to address one's relatives. But it's too complex and fewer people are using them now. Do you have any questions on calling your relatives?? Tell me and I will have a try to explain it to you. :P |
| Apr 9, 2007 12:29 | #10 |
| I have solved my fonts problem. You did not tell about friend (Not BF or GF). only friend. Like, Hi friend, How R U ? |
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