English says "uncle" - Chinese asks whose uncle, older or younger than whom. The kinship system splits where English merges, and it is completely regular once mapped.
The everyday core
| 爸爸 bàba | dad | 妈妈 māma | mom |
| 哥哥 gēge | older brother | 弟弟 dìdi | younger brother |
| 姐姐 jiějie | older sister | 妹妹 mèimei | younger sister |
| 儿子 | son | 女儿 | daughter |
| 丈夫 | husband (formal) | 妻子 | wife (formal) |
| 老公 | husband (everyday) | 老婆 | wife (everyday) |
The grandparent split
Paternal and maternal lines diverge: 爷爷/奶奶 = father's parents; 外公/外婆 = mother's parents. Same for uncles: 伯伯 (father's older brother), 叔叔 (father's younger), 舅舅 (mother's brother), and aunts 姑姑/阿姨/姨妈 by side. The kinship pill decks lay the whole tree out.
How it is used
Two patterns: first, kinship terms REPLACE names - you call your older brother 哥哥， not his name. Second, they extend to strangers by rough age: 叔叔 to a middle-aged man, 阿姨 to a middle-aged woman, 小朋友 to a child, 小伙子 to a young man - and getting the age-band wrong is the one real social risk.
In-law and extended terms
Marriage splits another axis: 公公/婆婆 are the husband's parents, 岳父/岳母 the wife's - never mixed. Cousins split by side AND gender AND age relative to you: 表哥/表姐 (non-paternal-side, older), 堂弟/堂妹 (paternal-side, younger). The full system is famously precise; learners only need the everyday core plus 亲戚 (relatives collectively) and 家人 (immediate family) as catch-alls.
Common questions
What do you call your grandparents in Chinese?
Paternal: 爷爷 (grandpa) / 奶奶 (grandma). Maternal: 外公 / 外婆. The two sides have different words - there is no generic "grandfather".
Why are there so many Chinese words for uncle?
Chinese kinship encodes side and relative age: 伯伯 = father's older brother, 叔叔 = father's younger, 舅舅 = mother's brother, plus 姑父/姨父 for uncles by marriage.
How do Chinese people address family members?
By the kinship term, not by name - an older brother is called 哥哥. Strangers get age-appropriate terms too: 叔叔/阿姨 for middle-aged adults, 大哥 for a slightly older man.