In this #SkritterChineseTips lesson, we’re taking on the topic of the Chinese family tree which confuses even native speakers! ⠀
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But don’t worry because you don’t need to memorize all the different titles. There are prefixes and specific terms to differentiate paternal and maternal relatives, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. ⠀
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The cool thing is that you can pinpoint exactly who’s who in your family and what relation they are to you just based on these titles, so swipe right to see some of the core terms, and check out the full family tree below.
How the Chinese family tree is different from the typical family tree in the west
Compared to Western family trees, the Chinese family tree is quite complex. This system has a separate title for family members that is based off of their age, generation, lineage, and gender. In addition, there are different terms for relatives depending on if they are kin to the mother or father.
First, let’s take a quick look at the Chinese family tree. You can click on the images to enlarge them.
What you should learn about the Chinese family culture
Family is very important in Chinese culture, and there are a lot of very specific terms for each generation. One thing to remember is that you should not address your elders by their name. When addressing elders, you should only call them by their title. You can learn more in our YouTube video: What to Call Your In-Laws?
Now let’s learn some vocabulary
Let’s end this lesson by learning some more vocabulary. You can commit these terms to memory with our pre-made study deck.
Did you ever think the family tree would be so hard? Do you have any terms we missed out? Have a question? Leave a comment on our Instagram page.