岳母
yuèmǔ
In Chinese, mother-in-law is expressed in several ways depending on whether you are referring to a wife's mother or a husband's mother. 岳母 (yuèmǔ). Wiktionary also lists 婆婆 (pópo) and 丈母娘 (zhàngmuniáng).
Meaning: spouse's mother (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 岳母 | yuèmǔ |
| 婆婆 | pópo |
| 丈母娘 | zhàngmuniáng |
The term you choose depends on your gender and the relationship to the mother-in-law. For a wife's mother, you use 岳母 or 丈母娘. For a husband's mother, a wife uses 婆婆. While 婆婆 can mean grandmother in some contexts, when used within a family relationship context by a daughter-in-law, it refers to the husband's mother.
What does it mean word for word?
The formal term 岳母 is composed of 岳, which refers to the wife's family or father-in-law and 母, meaning mother.
Which one should you use?
岳母 is the formal term used specifically for a wife's mother. In contrast, 丈母娘 is a colloquial, slightly more casual way to refer to a wife's mother. For a husband's mother, the common term used by a wife is 婆婆.
How do you pronounce it?
yuèmǔ
Did you know?
- The character 岳 in 岳母 originally refers to a 'lofty mountain', symbolizing the high status and respect owed to the wife's ancestral home.
- In traditional Chinese culture, the relationship between a wife and her 婆婆 was historically one of the most stressful dynamics, often depicted as a power struggle in folk opera.
- The term 丈母娘 contains the character 丈, which historically referred to a unit of measurement or a man of status, now functioning as a prefix for a wife's family.
Examples in context
- 我的婆婆人很好。My mother-in-law is very kind.
- 谢谢你的关心，婆婆。Thank you for your concern, mother-in-law.
- 岳母送了我们一些水果。Yuèmǔ sòngle wǒmen yīxiē shuǐguǒ.My mother-in-law gave us some fruit.
- 我想给岳母买件衣服。Wǒ xiǎng gěi yuèmǔ mǎi jiàn yīfú.I want to buy a piece of clothing for my mother-in-law.
Example conversation
Wei and Jiayi are discussing their weekend plans.
- 伟 Wei这个周末我想去拜访我的岳母。Zhège zhōumò wǒ xiǎng qù bàifǎng wǒ de yuèmǔ.I want to visit my mother-in-law this weekend.
- 佳怡 Jiayi太好了，她一定会很高兴的。Tài hǎole, tā yīdìng huì hěn gāoxìng de.That's great, she will definitely be very happy.
- 伟 Wei我们要给她带些什么礼物？Wǒmen yào gěi tā dài xiē shénme lǐwù?What gifts should we bring her?
- 佳怡 Jiayi买一些新鲜的水果就可以了。Mǎi yīxiē xīnxiān de shuǐguǒ jiù kěyǐ le.Buying some fresh fruit will be enough.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mother-in-law” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
