tánggē
older male cousin, father's side
Chinese has no single everyday word for "cousin". In pinyin you pick one by side of the family and age, such as tánggē for an older male cousin on your father's side. It is also called biǎogē and tángmèi.
Meaning: child of an aunt or uncle (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Note |
|---|---|
| tánggē | older male cousin, father's side |
| biǎogē | older male cousin, mother's side or father's sister |
| tángmèi | younger female cousin, father's side |
| biǎomèi | younger female cousin, mother's side or father's sister |
The first part tells the side of the family. Táng (堂) marks cousins who share your father's surname and biǎo (表) marks the others, such as children of your mother's siblings or of your father's sisters.
What does it mean word for word?
The second part gives age and sex. Gē is an older brother, jiě an older sister, dì a younger brother and mèi a younger sister. So biǎojiě is an older female cousin on that side.
How does it change in a sentence?
The general plural terms are tángxiōngdì jiěmèi and biǎoxiōngdì jiěmèi, which both mean cousins.
Did you know?
- Chinese family words name the exact relation, so English "cousin" needs several different words in Chinese.
Examples in context
- Wǒ de tánggē zài Shànghǎi gōngzuò.My older cousin on my father's side works in Shanghai.
- Biǎomèi míngtiān lái wǒ jiā.My younger cousin is coming to my house tomorrow.
- Tā shì wǒ de biǎojiě.She is my older female cousin.
Example conversation
Lan shows her friend Anna a family photo and introduces her cousins.
- AnnaZhè shì shéi?Who is this?
- LanZhè shì wǒ de tánggē.This is my older cousin on my father's side.
- AnnaNà zhè wèi ne?And who is this one?
- LanTā shì biǎomèi.She is my younger cousin.
