爸爸
bàba/pä⁵¹ b̥ä¹/
The English phrase 'papa' is translated into Chinese as 爸爸 (bàba).
爸爸 is an informal and affectionate way to refer to a father, much like 'dad' or 'papa' in English.
Which one should you use?
While 爸爸 is used in casual family settings, 父亲 is the formal term for 'father' used in official or written contexts.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
爸爸 is an informal and affectionate term. In contrast, use 父亲 for formal situations or written documents.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Northern China, you may hear 爹 used instead of 爸 to refer to a father. In parts of Southern China and Taiwan, the informal terms 老爸 or 老爹 are sometimes used for 'dad'. In the Sichuan and Chongqing regions, the term 爹爹 is used to address a father, carrying a meaning similar to 'dad' or 'daddy'.
How does it change in a sentence?
爸爸 is a noun that can function as a direct address, a subject or an object within a sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
bàba (IPA: /pä⁵¹ b̥ä¹/)
Did you know?
- In modern Chinese internet slang, 爸爸 is used to refer to someone who is significantly more powerful or skilled than the speaker, regardless of biological relation.
- The phonetic resemblance between the English 'papa' and the Chinese 爸爸 is a case of convergent evolution, meaning they arrived at the same easy-to-say sound independently without any historical connection.
- The repetition of the character 爸 in 爸爸 is a linguistic feature called reduplication, which is frequently used in Chinese to create a sense of intimacy or 'cuteness'.
Examples in context
- 你或許會讓你爸爸僱人在聖誕夜守在所有煙囪裡，想抓住聖誕老人，但即使他們沒看到聖誕老人下來，那又能證明什麼呢？沒人看到聖誕老人，但這並不代表聖誕老人不存在。You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.This sentence illustrates the use of 爸爸 in a casual context.Tatoeba #13665594 by LeviHighway, translation #5680726 by Hybrid
- 你好，爸爸！Hello, father!
- 嗨，爸！Hi, dad!
- 爹，我回来了！Dad, I'm back!
- 我爸爸在醫院工作。Wǒ bàba zài yīyuàn gōngzuò.My papa works in a hospital.
- 爸爸，我想喝牛奶。Bàba, wǒ xiǎng hē niúnǎi.Papa, I want to drink milk.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their families.
- 梓涵 Zihan你爸爸是老师吗？Nǐ bàba shì lǎoshī ma?Is your dad a teacher?
- 浩然 Haoran不是，我爸爸是医生。Bú shì, wǒ bàba shì yīshēng.No, my dad is a doctor.
- 梓涵 Zihan他在哪家医院工作？Tā zài nǎ jiā yīyuàn gōngzuò?Which hospital does he work at?
- 浩然 Haoran他在市中心的那家医院。Tā zài shìzhōngxīn de nà jiā yīyuàn.He's at the one downtown.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 爸爸, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
