People & Relationships: Vocabulary for family members, people, and relationships

Back to HSK 1 category list

Pinyin is the standard romanisation used to show Mandarin pronunciation using the Latin alphabet. You’ll often see tone marks on the vowels to show the four tones (plus the neutral tone), for example mā / má / mǎ / mà / ma. “Numbered pinyin” shows the same tones using a number after the syllable instead of tone marks, for example ma1 / ma2 / ma3 / ma4 / ma (sometimes written as ma5 for the neutral tone). Numbered pinyin is handy when you can’t easily type tone marks, while tone-mark pinyin is usually easier to read once you’re used to it.

爱

• Pinyin: ài
• Numbered pinyin: ai4
• English translation: love

爸爸

• Pinyin: bà ba
• Numbered pinyin: ba4 ba5
• English translation: dad, father

别人

• Pinyin: bié rén
• Numbered pinyin: bie2 ren2
• English translation: other people, others

弟弟

• Pinyin: dì di
• Numbered pinyin: di4 di5
• English translation: younger brother

儿子

• Pinyin: ér zi
• Numbered pinyin: er2 zi5
• English translation: son

哥哥

• Pinyin: gē ge
• Numbered pinyin: ge1 ge5
• English translation: older brother

孩子

• Pinyin: hái zi
• Numbered pinyin: hai2 zi5
• English translation: child

家人

• Pinyin: jiā rén
• Numbered pinyin: jia1 ren2
• English translation: family members (usually immediate family)

姐姐

• Pinyin: jiě jie
• Numbered pinyin: jie3 jie5
• English translation: older sister

老人

• Pinyin: lǎo rén
• Numbered pinyin: lao3 ren2
• English translation: elderly person

妈妈

• Pinyin: mā ma
• Numbered pinyin: ma1 ma5
• English translation: mother

妹妹

• Pinyin: mèi mei
• Numbered pinyin: mei4 mei5
• English translation: younger sister

名字

• Pinyin: míng zi
• Numbered pinyin: ming2 zi5
• English translation: name

奶奶

• Pinyin: nǎi nai
• Numbered pinyin: nai3 nai5
• English translation: grandmother (paternal)

男

• Pinyin: nán
• Numbered pinyin: nan2
• English translation: male

男孩儿

• Pinyin: nán háir
• Numbered pinyin: nan2 hai2r5
• English translation: boy

男朋友

• Pinyin: nán péng you
• Numbered pinyin: nan2 peng2 you5
• English translation: boyfriend

男人

• Pinyin: nán rén
• Numbered pinyin: nan2 ren2
• English translation: man

男生

• Pinyin: nán shēng
• Numbered pinyin: nan2 sheng1
• English translation: male student

女

• Pinyin: nǚ
• Numbered pinyin: nv3
• English translation: female

女儿

• Pinyin: nǚ ér
• Numbered pinyin: nv3 er2
• English translation: daughter

女孩儿

• Pinyin: nǚ hái r
• Numbered pinyin: nv3 hai2 r5
• English translation: girl

女朋友

• Pinyin: nǚ péng you
• Numbered pinyin: nv3 peng2 you5
• English translation: girlfriend

女人

• Pinyin: nǚ rén
• Numbered pinyin: nv3 ren2
• English translation: woman

女生

• Pinyin: nǚ shēng
• Numbered pinyin: nv3 sheng1
• English translation: female student

朋友

• Pinyin: péng you
• Numbered pinyin: peng2 you5
• English translation: friend

人

• Pinyin: rén
• Numbered pinyin: ren2
• English translation: person

先生

• Pinyin: xiān sheng
• Numbered pinyin: xian1 sheng5
• English translation: Mr., sir

小孩儿

• Pinyin: xiǎo hái r
• Numbered pinyin: xiao3 hai2 r5
• English translation: child

小姐

• Pinyin: xiǎo jiě
• Numbered pinyin: xiao3 jie3
• English translation: Miss

小朋友

• Pinyin: xiǎo péng you
• Numbered pinyin: xiao3 peng2 you5
• English translation: little friend

爷爷

• Pinyin: yé ye
• Numbered pinyin: ye2 ye5
• English translation: grandfather (paternal)

Back to HSK 1 category list