Lesson 13: Family
Chinese people have strong family values. This is why the lesson is a bit more complex than the others. In China, a family is headed by the most senior person, either the grandparents or parents. Children come next, followed by brothers. Husband and wife relations come at the bottom. The one-child policy in China has freed the man from obligations to his brothers and sisters but he can not escape from duties to his parents.
Vocabulary:
| Chinese Character | Pinyin | Pronunciation | English Translation | |
| 张 | zhāng | sheet, a surname | ||
| 照片 | zhào piān | photo | ||
| 照 | zhào | shine, illumine, reflect | ||
| 片 | piān | slice, splinter, strip | ||
| 家人 | jiā rén | family member | ||
| 家庭 | jiā tíng | family | ||
| 家 | jiā | house, home, residence; family | ||
| 庭 | tíng | courtyard; spacious hall or yard | ||
| 爸爸 | bà ba | father, dad, papa | ||
| 爸 | bà | father | ||
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mother, mom, mama | ||
| 妈 | mā | mother | ||
| 高 | gāo | tall | ||
| 个子 | gè zi | height | ||
| 子 | zǐ | child; fruit, seed of; 1st terrestrial branch | ||
| 男孩 | nán hái | boy | ||
| 男 | nán | male, man; son; baron; | ||
| 孩 | hái | baby, child; children | ||
| 女孩 | nǚ hái | girl | ||
| 女 | nǚ | woman, girl; feminine; | ||
| 哥哥 | gē ge | older brother | ||
| 哥 | gē | older brother | ||
| 弟弟 | dì di | younger brother | ||
| 弟 | dì | younger brother | ||
| 姐姐 | jiě jie | older sister | ||
| 姐 | jiě | older sister | ||
| 妹妹 | mèi mei | younger sister | ||
| 妹 | mèi | younger sister | ||
| 旁边 | páng biān | beside | ||
| 旁 | páng | side; by side, close by, near | ||
| 边 | biān | edge, margin, side, border | ||
| 没有 | méi yǒu | not, have not, none | ||
| 真 | zhēn | real, actual, true, genuine | ||
| 幸福 | xìng fú |
well-being; happiness; blessed | ||
| 幸 | xìng | luck(ily), favor, fortunately | ||
| 福 | fú | happiness, good fortune, blessing | ||
Tips:
- Chinese people like to use repeating words to describe their family members. (e.g. dad = "ba ba" = "爸爸", older brother = "ge ge" = "哥哥") In some regions, the daily Chinese dialog uses the single word to describe the same meaning.
- You may have noticed, there are specific words for older/younger brother/sisters, in Chinese. It's important not to confuse them.
- When talking about someone's height in Chinese, people use the word "high" (gao=高) or "short"(ai=矮) in front of the word "height" (ge zi = 个子).
- In Chinese language, the word "de" (的) is used as the marker of noun modifier. However, it is often ignored in the daily dialog when talking about family members. (e.g. my dad = wo baba = 我爸爸, instead of wo de baba = 我的爸爸)
Dialog:
Click to hear the above dialog.
English Translation A:
Is this your family photo?
Yes.
Are these your family members?
Yes. This is my dad, this is my mom.
Who is the tall boy?
He is my older brother.
Beside him is my younger brother.
Is this girl your younger sister?
No, she is my older sister. I don't have a younger sister.
You have such a wonderful family!
Additional Vocabulary:
| Chinese Character | Pinyin | Pronunciation | English Translation | |
| 夫妻 | fū qī | husband and wife, married couple | ||
| 夫 | fū | man, male adult, husband; those | ||
| 妻 | qī | wife | ||
| 丈夫 | zhàng fu | husband | ||
| 丈 | zhàng | unit of length; gentleman, man, husband | ||
| 妻子 | qī zǐ | wife | ||
| 儿子 | ér zi | son | ||
| 儿 | ér | son | ||
| 女儿 | nǚ ér | daughter | ||
| 爷爷 | yé ye | grandpa, grandfather (father's side) | ||
| 奶奶 | nǎi nai | grandma, grandmother (father's side) | ||
| 外公 | wài gōng | grandpa, grandfather (mother's side) | ||
| 外 | wài | out, outside, external; foreign | ||
| 公 | gōng | fair, equitable; public; duke | ||
| 外婆 | wài pó | grandma, grandmother (mother's side) | ||
| 婆 | pó | old woman; grandmother | ||
Tips:
- The grandfather and grandmother on each side of the parents are uniquely identified in the Chinese language.
Chinese Calligraphy:
张 照 片 家 庭 爸 妈 高 子 儿 女 男 孩 哥 弟 旁 边 姐 妹 真 幸 福 丈 夫 妻 爷 奶 外 公 婆
Questions and Comments
