´óÏó´«Ã½

Family (¼ÒÍ¥ Ji¨¡ t¨ªng) has always been very important in Chinese culture.

During the Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese people make every effort to travel home and reunite with their family.

The words for your parents in Mandarin are quite simple:

• °Ö°Ö b¨¤ ba - father

• ÂèÂè m¨¡ ma - mother

• °Ö°ÖÂèÂè b¨¤ ba m¨¡ ma - parents

In Mandarin, there are two options for sister and two for brother, depending on whether they are older or younger than you.

In Mandarin, different words are used to describe the grandparents who are your father¡¯s parents and the grandparents who are your mother¡¯s parents.

The same is true for all other relatives too, eg uncles, aunts and cousins.

¡®¿Ú °­¨¯³Ü¡¯ is the measure word used in Mandarin when talking about the number of members in a family - it literally means 'a mouth'.

To ask about someone¡¯s family in Mandarin, you can say:

Äã¼ÒÓм¸¿ÚÈË£¿ N¨« ji¨¡ y¨¯u j¨« °ì¨¯³Ü °ù¨¦²Ô? - How many people are there in your family?

To answer in Mandarin, you could say:

ÎÒ¼ÒÓÐËÄ¿ÚÈË¡£ W¨¯ ji¨¡ y¨¯u ²õ¨¬ °ì¨¯³Ü °ù¨¦²Ô - There are four people in my family

You can switch out four (ËÄ ²õ¨¬) for any other number, eg one ( Ò» ²â¨©), three ( Èþ ²õ¨¡²Ô) etc except for ¡®two¡¯.

When you want to say you have two of something in Mandarin, you don¡¯t use ¶þ ¨¨°ù (two).

Instead, you use the Mandarin word Á½ ±ô¾±¨£²Ô²µ.

You can also use the phrase ÎÒÓÐ W¨¯ y¨¯u (I have) in Mandarin:

• ÎÒÓÐÒ»¸ö¸ç¸ç W¨¯ y¨¯u ²â¨© g¨¨ g¨¥ ge - I have one older brother

• ÎÒÓÐÁ½¸öÃÃÃà W¨¯ y¨¯u ±ô¾±¨£²Ô²µ g¨¨ m¨¨i mei - I have two younger sisters

Did you know?

To introduce a family member, you can use ÕâÊÇ Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ (This is) with the particle ¡® µÄ de¡¯ to express possession.

So, to introduce your mother, you would say:

ÕâÊÇÎÒµÄÂèÂè Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ w¨¯ de m¨¡ ma - This is my mother

(Sometimes de is left out when talking about family and friends, so you can also say ÕâÊÇÎÒÂèÂè Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ w¨¯ m¨¡ ma)

Now you've learnt how to talk about your family in Mandarin, let's put it into a conversation!

(Two people are holding pictures of their families)

Caleb: ÕâÊÇÎÒÂèÂè. ÕâÊÇÎÒ¸ç¸ç. Ëû½ÐAlex. ËûÊ®Ëê.

Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ w¨¯ m¨¡ma. Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ w¨¯ g¨¥ge. T¨¡ ji¨¤o Alex. T¨¡ sh¨ª su¨¬.

This is my mum. This is my big brother. He¡¯s called Alex. He¡¯s ten.

Zoha: ÎÒÈÏʶAlex. ËûÊÇÎÒ½ã½ãµÄÅóÓÑ. ÕâÊÇÎÒ½ã½ã. Ëû½ÐAmina.

W¨¯ r¨¨nshi Alex. T¨¡ sh¨¬ w¨¯ ji¨§jie de p¨¦ngy¨¯u. Zh¨¨ sh¨¬ w¨¯ ji¨§jie. T¨¡ ji¨¤o Amina.

I know Alex. He is my big sister¡¯s friend. This is my big sister. She¡¯s called Amina.

Caleb: Amina ¼¸Ëê?

Amina j¨« su¨¬?

How old is Amina?

Zoha: ËýʮһËê¡­ ÄÇÊÇË­?

T¨¡ sh¨ª ²â¨© su¨¬¡­ N¨¤ sh¨¬ sh¨¦i?

She's eleven¡­ (pointing at Caleb's picture) Who is that?

Caleb: ÄÇÊÇÎҵܵÜ. Ëû½ÐNathan. ËûºÜ¿É°®.

N¨¤ sh¨¬ w¨¯ d¨¬di. T¨¡ ji¨¤o Nathan. T¨¡ h¨§n k¨§'¨¤i.

That is my little brother. He is called Nathan. He's very cute.

Why not practise what you've learnt by reading Little Red Riding Hood in Mandarin.