Chinese relatives

It may be interesting to know that, unlike western system, in China, we have different appellation for different relatives in a family. This is obviously good practice in order to tell who we are referring to in a conversation though some people may think otherwise!

Father's side Mother's side Father's father zufù Mother's father wài zufù Father's mother zumu Mother's mother wài zumu Father's elder brother bófù Mother's elder brother jiùfù Father's younger brother xu xu(uncle) Mother's younger brother same as above Father's elder brother's wife bómu Mother's elder brother's wife jiùmu Father's younger brother's wife shunshen Mother's younger brother's wife same as above Father's elder and younger sister gugu Mother's elder and younger sister yímu Father's sister's husband gufù Mother's sister's husband yífù Father's brother's son tángge(elder)

tángdì(younger) Mother's brother's son biaoge(elder)

biadì (younger)

I am sure this table can be endless knowing that one can have as big a family as possible. However, simply from the above, one can imagine how complicated it works when calling someone in your family in China. That is why it is not surprising that very often one doesn't know how to call someone when they meet in a Chinese New Year family gathering. What you need to know is that you always see this person every time you meet with your family and you can eat together at the same table.

Very often these days as well that sometimes my mother refers to someone about something in the family and she expects me to know who she is talking about. Well, the case is that I can hardly recall what this person looks like.....

In China, with the One-Child policy started over 2 decades ago, I think this system may not be as commonly used as before.