Introducing Your Family in Chinese: Essential Phrases and Tips

Introducing your family in Chinese is one of the basic topics when starting to learn this language. In daily conversations, especially when first meeting someone, Chinese people often ask about your family as a way to show interest. Let’s explore in detail how to introduce your family in Chinese with Ni Hao Ma!

How to Introduce Your Family in Chinese

One of the basic yet important communication topics is introducing your family. In Chinese communication, introducing yourself and your family is a fundamental skill that helps you make a good impression from the first meeting. So, how exactly should you introduce your family in Chinese?

Introducing the Number of People in Your Family

To begin introducing your family, you need to let the listener know how many people are in your family. In Chinese, we commonly use the measure word 口 (kǒu) to count family members.

我家有 + Number + 口人 (kǒu rén)

Example:

我家有四口人，爸爸、妈妈、姐姐和我。
(Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén, bàba, māma, jiějie hé wǒ.)
My family has four people: dad, mom, older sister, and me.

Introducing Ages

Introducing the ages of family members is also an interesting part of the conversation, helping the other person understand more about your family. When introducing the ages of family members in Chinese, you can use simple yet natural sentence structures. The most common structure is:

Family member + 今年 (jīnnián) + Number + 岁 (suì)

我爸爸今年四十五岁。
(Wǒ bàba jīnnián sìshíwǔ suì.)
My dad is 45 years old this year.

我弟弟今年十岁。
(Wǒ dìdi jīnnián shí suì.)
My younger brother is 10 years old this year.

Explore more: How To Count Numbers In Chinese Mandarin

Introducing the Occupations of Family Members

After mentioning the number of family members, you can continue by sharing the occupations of each family member. This also makes the conversation more interesting when communicating.

Family member + 是 (shì) + Job

我爸爸是医生。
(Wǒ bàba shì yīshēng.)
My dad is a doctor.

我妈妈是老师。
(Wǒ māma shì lǎoshī.)
My mom is a teacher.

我的哥哥是工程师。
(Wǒ de gēge shì gōngchéngshī.)
My older brother is an engineer.

Learn More: Vocabulary About Jobs And Occupations in Chinese

Sample Text to Introduce Your Family in Chinese

我家有四口人，爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。爸爸是医生，妈妈是老师，我和妹妹是学生。爸爸今年四十岁，妈妈三十六岁，妹妹十四岁。

Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén, bàba, māma, mèimei hé wǒ. Bàba shì yīshēng, māma shì lǎoshī, wǒ hé mèimei shì xuéshēng. Bàba jīnnián sìshí suì, māma sānshíliù suì, mèimei shísì suì.

There are four people in my family: my father, mother, younger sister, and me. My father is a doctor, my mother is a teacher, and my sister and I are students. My father is 40 years old this year, my mother is 36 years old, and my younger sister is 14 years old.

Vocabulary Related to Family Members in Chinese

The journey to mastering Chinese is not just about memorizing grammar rules or practicing everyday conversations but also about exploring and expanding your vocabulary according to specific topics. Among these topics, family is always an essential one. Mastering vocabulary related to the family will help you introduce your family in Chinese more fluently.

Here’s a list of vocabulary related to family members and related terms that you can refer to!

No.	Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
1	家庭	jiātíng	Family
2	父亲	fùqīn	Father (formal)
3	母亲	mǔqīn	Mother (formal)
4	爸爸	bàba	Dad (informal)
5	妈妈	māmā	Mom (informal)
6	爷爷	yéye	Paternal grandfather
7	奶奶	nǎinai	Paternal grandmother
8	外公	wàigōng	Maternal grandfather
9	外婆	wàipó	Maternal grandmother
10	兄弟	xiōngdì	Brothers
11	姐妹	jiěmèi	Sisters
12	哥哥	gēge	Older brother
13	弟弟	dìdì	Younger brother
14	姐姐	jiějie	Older sister
15	妹妹	mèimei	Younger sister
16	孙子	sūnzi	Grandson
17	孙女	sūnnǚ	Granddaughter
18	儿子	érzi	Son
19	女儿	nǚ’ér	Daughter
20	亲戚	qīnqi	Relatives
21	夫妻	fūqī	Couple (husband and wife)
22	丈夫	zhàngfu	Husband
23	妻子	qīzi	Wife
24	亲生	qīnshēng	Biological (of birth)
25	继父	jìfù	Stepfather
26	继母	jìmǔ	Stepmother
27	养父	yǎngfù	Adoptive father
28	养母	yǎngmǔ	Adoptive mother
29	姑姑	gūgu	Aunt (father’s sister)
30	舅舅	jiùjiu	Uncle (mother’s brother)
31	阿姨	āyí	Aunt (mother’s sister)
32	伯伯	bóbo	Uncle (father’s older brother)
33	叔叔	shūshu	Uncle (father’s younger brother)
34	媳妇	xífù	Daughter-in-law
35	岳父	yuèfù	Father-in-law (wife’s father)
36	岳母	yuèmǔ	Mother-in-law (wife’s mother)
37	孩子	háizi	Child
38	继兄弟姐妹	jì xiōngdì jiěmèi	Step-siblings
39	妯娌	zhóulì	Sister-in-law (brother’s wife)
40	小舅子	xiǎo jiùzi	Brother-in-law (husband of sister)
41	婶婶	shěnshen	Aunt (wife of uncle)
42	伯母	bómǔ	Aunt (wife of father’s older brother)
43	舅妈	jiùmā	Aunt (wife of mother’s brother)
44	姨夫	yífu	Uncle (husband of aunt)
45	继子女	jì zǐ nǚ	Stepchildren
46	儿媳	érxí	Daughter-in-law
47	女婿	nǚxù	Son-in-law
48	婆婆	pópo	Mother-in-law (husband’s mother)
49	公公	gōnggong	Father-in-law (husband’s father)
50	养子	yǎngzǐ	Adopted son
51	养女	yǎngnǚ	Adopted daughter
52	堂哥	táng gē	Paternal cousin (older male)
53	堂姐	táng jiě	Paternal cousin (older female)
54	表哥	biǎo gē	Maternal cousin (older male)
55	表姐	biǎo jiě	Maternal cousin (older female)
56	兄弟姐妹	xiōngdì jiěmèi	Siblings
57	家族	jiāzú	Family (clan)
58	长辈	zhǎngbèi	Elder
59	晚辈	wǎnbèi	Younger generation
60	孤儿	gū’ér	Orphan
61	结婚	jiéhūn	To get married
62	离婚	líhūn	To divorce
63	独生子	dúshēngzǐ	Only son
64	独生女	dúshēngnǚ	Only daughter
65	同父异母的哥哥	tóng fù yì mǔ de gēge	Half-brother (same father, different mother)
66	同母异父的姐姐	tóng mǔ yì fù de jiějie	Half-sister (same mother, different father)
67	嫂嫂	sǎosǎo	Sister-in-law (brother’s wife)
68	妹夫	mèifu	Brother-in-law (husband of sister)
69	姐夫	jiěfu	Brother-in-law (husband of older sister)
70	弟媳	dìxí	Sister-in-law (wife of younger brother)

Sample Dialogue for Introducing Your Family in Chinese

Mastering how to talk about family members not only makes your conversation more natural but also creates a friendly connection with the other person. Below are some simple dialogue examples you can use to learn how to introduce your family in Chinese smoothly.

Dialogue Sample 1

A: 你好！可以介绍一下你的家庭吗？
(Nǐ hǎo! Kěyǐ jièshào yīxià nǐ de jiātíng ma?)
Hello! Can you introduce your family?

B: 当然可以！我家有五口人，爸爸、妈妈、哥哥、妹妹和我。
(Dāngrán kěyǐ! Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén, bàba, māma, gēge, mèimei hé wǒ.)
Of course! My family has five people: my dad, mom, older brother, younger sister, and me.

A: 你爸爸妈妈是做什么工作的？
(Nǐ bàba māma shì zuò shénme gōngzuò de?)
What do your parents do?

B: 爸爸是工程师，妈妈是护士。哥哥已经工作了，是一名律师，妹妹还在上高中。
(Bàba shì gōngchéngshī, māma shì hùshì. Gēge yǐjīng gōngzuò le, shì yì míng lǜshī, mèimei hái zài shàng gāozhōng.)
My dad is an engineer, my mom is a nurse. My older brother is working as a lawyer, and my younger sister is still in high school.

Dialogue Sample 2

A: 你好啊！我们好像是第一次见面吧？你是哪边的亲戚？
(Nǐ hǎo a! Wǒmen hǎoxiàng shì dì yī cì jiànmiàn ba? Nǐ shì nǎ biān de qīnqi?)
Hello! Looks like this is our first meeting? Which side of the family are you from?

B: 哈哈，是的。我是新娘的表弟。我家住在北京，爸爸是公务员，妈妈开了一家小店。
(Hāhā, shì de. Wǒ shì xīnniáng de biǎodì. Wǒ jiā zhù zài Běijīng, bàba shì gōngwùyuán, māma kāi le yī jiā xiǎodiàn.)
Haha, yes. I’m the groom’s cousin. My family lives in Beijing, my dad is a civil servant, and my mom runs a small shop.

A: 哦，难怪看着这么面熟，欢迎欢迎！
(Ó, nán guài kàn zhe zhème miànshú, huānyíng huānyíng!)
Oh, no wonder you look familiar. Welcome, welcome!

Conclusion

Introducing your family in Chinese is a basic topic that you will often encounter in various communication situations, especially when getting to know someone. Mastering the vocabulary and dialogue templates provided in this article will make it easier for you to converse with others. We hope Ni Hao Ma‘s helpful tips will guide you in introducing your family in Chinese with confidence!