Chinese for the Casual Learner

Family Relationships

Chinese relatives do not address each other by their names but their relationships. These relationship titles can be very complex because the titles are designed to take into account many variables, such as whether the relative is older or younger than oneself, the sex of the relative, and whether the relative is a maternal or paternal relative.

The following list is limited to the very closest relatives, a subset which, fortunately, bypasses all of the above complexities.

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• Pronouns