Here are Chinese words for family to start with: 哥哥 (gē gē, brother), 女儿 (nǚ ér, daughter), 父亲 (fù qīn, father), 祖父 (zǔ fù, grandfather). Below are 40 words (A1–C2) with their English translations, part of speech and a romanization to help you say them, across 5 themed lists.
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| brother | 哥哥gē gē | noun | A1 |
| daughter | 女儿nǚ ér | noun | A1 |
| father | 父亲fù qīn | noun | A1 |
| grandfather | 祖父zǔ fù | noun | A1 |
| grandmother | 祖母zǔ mǔ | noun | A1 |
| mother | 母亲mǔ qīn | noun | A1 |
| sister | 妹妹mèi mèi | noun | A1 |
| son | 儿子ér zi | noun | A1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| aunt | 阿姨ā yí | noun | A1 |
| child | 孩子hái zi | noun | A1 |
| cousin | 表亲biǎo qīn | noun | A1 |
| husband | 丈夫zhàng fū | noun | A1 |
| parent | 父母fù mǔ | noun | A1 |
| uncle | 叔叔shū shū | noun | A1 |
| wife | 妻子qī zǐ | noun | A1 |
| in-law | 姻亲yīn qīn | noun | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| ancestor | 祖先zǔ xiān | noun | A2 |
| generation | 一代yī dài | noun | A2 |
| sibling | 兄弟姐妹xiōng dì jiě mèi | noun | B1 |
| heritage | 传承chuán chéng | noun | B2 |
| spouse | 配偶pèi ǒu | noun | B2 |
| lineage | 血统xuè tǒng | noun | C1 |
| genealogy | 家谱jiā pǔ | noun | C2 |
| progeny | 后代hòu dài | noun | C2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| birth | 出生chū shēng | noun | A1 |
| childhood | 童年tóng nián | noun | A2 |
| death | 死亡sǐ wáng | noun | A2 |
| adulthood | 成年期chéng nián qī | noun | B1 |
| parenthood | 为人父母wéi rén fù mǔ | noun | B1 |
| divorce | 离婚lí hūn | noun | B2 |
| relocation | 搬迁bān qiān | noun | B2 |
| retirement | 退休tuì xiū | noun | B2 |
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Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
These lists show a sample of the A1–C2 words for family. The packs in Watch Your Language hold more and reach the advanced levels, along with every other topic.
The app shows them to you a few at a time, in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting.
You could start with words like 哥哥 (gē gē, brother), 女儿 (nǚ ér, daughter), 父亲 (fù qīn, father), 祖父 (zǔ fù, grandfather). This page lists 40 Chinese words for family (A1–C2), each with its English translation and part of speech.
Reading a list once is rarely enough. Watch Your Language shows Chinese words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and schedules repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.
Yes. The lists on this page are free to read, with no sign-up. The app holds more words for each topic.
Social Roles
B1–B2More from this pack waits in the app