Newbie - Son or Daughter?

Hello Chinese pod,

Can I trouble someone on your team to put up all the family member names for extended family members? Such as uncles, aunts, various ways to say "cousin", grandfathers, grandmothers, etc.  That would be really great if someone could put that on the message board.

@namename1011

I have this PDF stuck in front my of work desk to remind me what to call relatives.

http://laowaichinese.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/chinese-family-tree.pdf

namename1011

I think you will find this link satisfies your needs.

Update: Haha, alexyzye beat me to it by a few seconds.  Anyway, my link includes some other banter as well as the pdf.

Hey Alex, Hey xiaophil,

I really appreciate that link!! :)

@cinese,

None of us is pregnant. But since procreation is one of the key themes of human existence, we thought we'd reflect that. Hopefully, there is something worthwhile for learners from each different level.

hey jenny, I was just wondering. didn't mean to sound rude or complaing in any way about the lessons topic. sorry if I was. :(

Sometimes it's difficult to tell it's a boy or a girl in a baby cart! "Oh, xiǎomèimèi zhēn piàoliang” (小妹妹真漂亮)，little pretty girl! The mother will smile at me and say: "tā shì nánháir”, it's a boy~~~" How embarrassing!

At least in spoken Chinese if you don't know a baby's gender you can confidently talk about it without revealing your lack of knowledge.

Ni hao, how do we say "little emperors" in Chinese? Thank you.

@sydcarten,

true, very true.

When do you use ni or ni de? Is there anytime when you can or cannot use one or the other to describe possesive or not?

Does 性别 refer to more to sex (biological categorization) or gender (social/cultural categorization)? Is there a different term for both?

Little emperors:

Another here:

http://image60.webshots.com/60/0/71/16/2253071160010743467mzJkPF_fs.jpg

@abbyschrag

I'm just a beginner myself, no expert, but I do remember reading that it is usual to drop the 的 when you are talking about a close relation.

For example, MY MOTHER:

Could be: 我的妈妈
But is usually: 我妈妈

Yong Ho in his book Beginner's Chinese comments that whether or not we use the particle de (的) could be suggestive of our relationship to an object/person. Most people would drop 的 when talking about their immediate family, i.e., wǒ tàitai (my wife). Depending on context, he says the use of 的 might actually make the speaker sound a little possesive, i.e., wǒ 的 tàitai could be taken to mean MY wife. ^__^

As far as entities/organizations that are dear to us (or not), he says whether we use 的 can also give the listener a hint as to the relationship the speaker has with them. For example, if someone says "Wǒmen Zhōngwén xì" (our Chinese department), it probably means that she is a member of the department (student/professor) and she cares about it, whereas if she uses 的 it might mean that she doesn't have strong feelings towards the department.

@alexyzye, nope! 性别 only refers to sex, male or female. (no implication of social/cultural categorization)

Is 'little emperor' just xiao(3)huang(2)di(4) or is there a special term?

"小皇帝 xiao huang di ”or you can say "xiao zu zong“

@shi_lei

Could you please use hanzi?  Pinyin is not too useful without hanzi - Do you mean 小祖宗?  In my dictionary this translates as 'ancestors'.. 

yes! 小祖宗 is right ."ancestors" to chinese is very important ,so they call their kid "小祖宗'' embodies they are doting on their childern~~

@shi_lei

我明白。。 谢谢。

不客气～～

BY THE WAY: JOHN, THE NEW IPHONE APP WORKED GREAT ON THE IPOD TOUCH.  COOOOOOOL!

buyo chou

If the children are adults, does one use the same terms?

@mjohncoady, yes, we'll still use these terms!

Hello, Guys

Thanks for useful information. I love them.