Cantonese Dictionary Vol. 100: 10 Essential Cantonese Family & Relative Terms Hong Kongers Grow Up With

October 1, 2026

Cantonese family gathered around a dining table for a Lunar New Year reunion

Welcome to Volume 100 of the Cantonese Dictionary — a milestone edition. If you have ever been to a Cantonese family dinner and heard someone shout for 姑媽 across the room while another cousin called out to 阿舅, you already know the quiet complexity of Cantonese family terms. Unlike English, where "uncle" covers your mum's brother, your dad's brother, your mum's sister's husband, and that random family friend, Cantonese drills every relationship down to the paternal or maternal side, the elder or younger branch, and the blood or marriage line.

In this volume, we're walking through 10 essential Cantonese family terms every Hong Konger grows up with — the words you hear at Lunar New Year reunion dinners, at tea ceremonies, and when 阿媽 is yelling for you to come to the table. Learn these and you'll never again get yelled at for calling the wrong aunt the wrong name.

Asian family gathered around a dining table sharing a Lunar New Year meal — A Cantonese family reunion dinner — the stage on which these family titles come alive — Photo via Pexels

Why Cantonese family terms are so specific

Chinese kinship terminology is one of the most elaborate systems in any language. A single English word like "cousin" can split into eight different Cantonese words depending on whether the cousin comes from your father's side (堂) or your mother's side (表), whether they are older or younger, and whether they are male or female. This precision mirrors a Confucian worldview that cares deeply about hierarchy, lineage, and respect — but in modern Hong Kong, it also just means your family WhatsApp group has a lot of nicknames.

If you grew up Cantonese in the diaspora and only ever called people "auntie" and "uncle," this guide is for you. It's also the perfect excuse to grab a 著多件衫 Wear More Layers hoodie for the next family gathering — because the first thing 阿媽 will say to you is still "put on another layer."

10 essential Cantonese family terms

1. 阿爸

aa3 baa1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Dad (informal, affectionate).

Explanation: The warm, everyday word for father. The 阿 prefix is a classic Cantonese affectionate marker used before names and family terms. More formal is 爸爸 (baa4 baa1), but 阿爸 is what you'd actually shout from the kitchen.

In real life: 阿爸,食飯啦! (Aa3 baa1, sik6 faan6 laa1!) — "Dad, come eat!"

2. 阿媽

aa3 maa1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Mum (informal, affectionate).

Explanation: The Cantonese word for mother that you'll hear in every household. In Hong Kong families, 阿媽 is the one making the soup, telling you to wear more layers, and asking if you've eaten. The relationship is so central it has its own universe of sayings — the whole 媽咪話 (Mami Says) tradition we built our brand around.

In real life: 阿媽煲咗湯畀你飲。(Aa3 maa1 bou1 zo2 tong1 bei2 nei5 jam2.) — "Mum boiled soup for you."

If you've ever had your mum shove a thermos of 老火湯 at you before heading out, you'll recognise the gesture. We even made a 飲湯 Yum Tung tee for that exact moment — the one every Cantonese kid remembers.

3. 嫲嫲

maa4 maa4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Paternal grandmother (your dad's mum).

Explanation: The word splits Cantonese kinship into two sides from the start. 嫲嫲 is always your father's mother, never your mother's. In traditional Hong Kong families, 嫲嫲 is the matriarch who presides over Lunar New Year dinner and remembers every grandchild's favourite dish.

In real life: 嫲嫲整嘅蘿蔔糕最好食! (Maa4 maa4 zing2 ge3 lo4 baak6 gou1 zeoi3 hou2 sik6!) — "Grandma's turnip cake is the best!"

4. 婆婆

po4 po2 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Maternal grandmother (your mum's mum).

Explanation: On the other side of the family tree is 婆婆 — always your mother's mother. The paternal/maternal split in Cantonese grandmother terms is one of the clearest examples of how Chinese kinship marks lineage. In Hong Kong, 婆婆 is often the one slipping red packets to grandchildren when 阿媽 isn't looking.

In real life: 婆婆住喺元朗。(Po4 po2 zyu6 hai2 Jyun4 Long5.) — "Grandma (mum's side) lives in Yuen Long."

Smiling grandmother cooking a traditional Chinese meal with teenage granddaughter — 嫲嫲 or 婆婆 — the grandmother who still remembers every grandchild's favourite dish — Photo via Pexels

5. 舅父

kau5 fu6 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Maternal uncle (your mum's brother).

Explanation: Not just any uncle — specifically your mother's brother. Cantonese uses completely different words for your dad's older brother (伯父 baak3 fu6), your dad's younger brother (叔父 suk1 fu6), and your mum's brother (舅父). The 舅父 relationship often carries a special warmth in Cantonese families, since he's the one who hosts the family on your mum's side.

In real life: 舅父畀咗個大利是我! (Kau5 fu6 bei2 zo2 go3 daai6 lai6 si6 ngo5!) — "Maternal uncle gave me a big red packet!"

6. 姑媽

gu1 maa1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Paternal aunt, elder (your dad's older sister).

Explanation: On the paternal side, your dad's elder sister is 姑媽, while his younger sister is 姑姐 (gu1 ze1). Younger or elder is marked separately. This is why your parents can rattle off a specific aunt the moment you say the right syllable — the title alone tells them exactly which woman is being summoned to the dinner table.

In real life: 姑媽今年返香港過年。(Gu1 maa1 gam1 nin4 faan1 Hoeng1 Gong2 gwo3 nin4.) — "Auntie (dad's elder sister) is coming back to Hong Kong for New Year."

7. 大佬

daai6 lou2 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Older brother (colloquial); also "big bro" or "boss" informally.

Explanation: Literally "big fellow." In family use it means your older brother; among friends it means a mate you look up to; in triad films it means "the boss." The slip between these uses is why Cantonese slang has so much texture — one word carries family, friendship, and street hierarchy all at once.

In real life: 我大佬好錫我。(Ngo5 daai6 lou2 hou2 sek3 ngo5.) — "My older brother really loves me."

8. 細佬

sai3 lou2 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Younger brother.

Explanation: Literally "small fellow." The counterpart to 大佬. In Cantonese families, birth order is tracked carefully — the elder sibling has implied authority and responsibility, while the younger one gets a nickname that often sticks for life. Many Cantonese parents still call their fifty-year-old sons 細佬 at the dinner table.

In real life: 細佬讀緊中學。(Sai3 lou2 duk6 gan2 zung1 hok6.) — "My younger brother is in secondary school."

Asian teenage girl serving dumplings at a family dinner table with roast duck — Serving the elders first — one of the small Cantonese etiquette rules that family terms teach — Photo via Pexels

9. 表哥

biu2 go1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Older male cousin from the maternal side (or the paternal aunt's side).

Explanation: Cantonese splits cousins into 表 (biu2) and 堂 (tong4). 表 covers cousins through your mother or through your father's sister — anyone whose surname differs from yours. 堂 covers cousins who share your father's surname. 表哥 is specifically an older male 表 cousin. There are seven more variants depending on gender, age, and side.

In real life: 我表哥係醫生。(Ngo5 biu2 go1 hai6 ji1 sang1.) — "My older cousin (maternal side) is a doctor."

10. 契仔

kai3 zai2 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Godson; a boy taken as a sworn or ritual son.

Explanation: In Cantonese culture, taking a 契仔 or 契女 (goddaughter) was traditionally done to ensure a child's good fortune — often performed at a temple with a formal ceremony. The relationship is treated almost as blood kinship; 契爺 (godfather) and 契媽 (godmother) are expected to appear at weddings, Lunar New Year, and major family milestones.

In real life: 佢係我契仔,好叻仔。(Keoi5 hai6 ngo5 kai3 zai2, hou2 lek1 zai2.) — "He's my godson, very bright kid."

Why learning these matters

Cantonese family terms are more than vocabulary — they're a social map. Each word tells you where someone sits in the family hierarchy and what etiquette applies. Younger relatives serve tea first. Elders eat first. Red packets flow downward. The language itself encodes the manners.

For Cantonese kids in the diaspora, relearning these words is often how they come back to the culture — one dinner, one 嫲嫲, one bowl of 老火湯 at a time. If you want to celebrate those memories on your sleeve, we built the whole Mami Says collection around them: shirts stitched with 著多件衫, 食飯, 飲湯 — the exact phrases your 阿媽 still says to you on the phone.

And if you're the one holding down the group chat, teaching your younger 細佬 or 細妹 how to call every aunt by the right title, grab a 廣東仔 CANTONESE GUY oversized tee — because being the family's Cantonese translator is a flex.