Cantonese Dictionary Vol. 119: 10 Cantonese Family & Relative Terms Every Hong Kong Kid Learns Before School

October 17, 2026

Dim sum stall with bamboo steamers at a Hong Kong-style street market

Walk into any yum cha hall in Hong Kong at ten in the morning and you’ll hear the whole family tree at once. A toddler yelling for her po4 po4. A teenage boy mumbling aa3 maa1 under his breath. An uncle you’ve never met waving you over and calling you sai3 lou2 like he raised you. Cantonese kinship terms aren’t just translations of English words — they carry which side of the family you’re on, who’s older than whom, and sometimes a hint of affection or annoyance built right into the sound.

If you grew up overseas and your parents never slowed down enough to explain the whole chart, this is for you. Volume 119 covers ten everyday Cantonese family words that every Hong Kong kid learns before kindergarten — the informal ones, the ones with cultural weight, and the ones that will make a Cantonese auntie smile the moment you use them correctly. For yesterday’s volume on 10 Cantonese words for being angry, we covered the words you’d yell at family. Today, we’re on the names.

The 10 Family Terms

1. 老豆

lou5 dau6 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Dad (informal, affectionate).

Explanation: The everyday Cantonese word for father, used among friends and in casual speech. More intimate than the formal 爸爸 (baa4 baa1) and distinctly Cantonese — Mandarin speakers don’t use it. It’s the word a Hong Kong kid uses when complaining about homework and the word a grown man uses when telling a story in a bar.

In real life: “我老豆鍾意飲普洱。” (ngo5 lou5 dau6 zung1 ji3 jam2 pou2 lei2) — “My dad loves pu’er tea.”

2. 阿媽

aa3 maa1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Mum.

Explanation: The warm, everyday Cantonese word for mother. The 阿 (aa3) prefix is a feature of Cantonese that turns a kinship term into a familiar address — you’ll see it on half this list. Writing 阿媽 feels like how you’d actually call her across the dinner table.

In real life: “阿媽，食飯啦！” (aa3 maa1, sik6 faan6 laa1) — “Mum, dinner’s ready!” If this phrase hits home, we literally put it on a 食飯 Dinner is Ready oversized tee.

Steamed dumplings in a traditional bamboo basket at a dim sum table — Bamboo steamers at a Cantonese tea house — where most of these words get used every weekend — Photo via Pexels

3. 阿爺

aa3 je4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Paternal grandfather (dad’s father).

Explanation: Cantonese grandparents come in pairs — one for the father’s side, one for the mother’s — and the words are always different. 阿爺 is specifically the grandfather on your dad’s side. Mixing this up with 公公 (the maternal grandfather) is one of the first mistakes diaspora kids get gently corrected on.

In real life: “阿爺教我寫中文字。” (aa3 je4 gaau3 ngo5 se2 zung1 man2 zi6) — “Grandpa taught me to write Chinese characters.”

4. 阿嫲

aa3 maa4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Paternal grandmother (dad’s mother).

Explanation: The partner to 阿爺. Note that even though it looks and sounds similar to 阿媽 (mum, aa3 maa1), the tone is lower — maa4, with a falling pitch. Get the tone right and you’re calling her grandma. Get it wrong and you’re calling your dad’s mum... your mum. Tones matter.

In real life: “阿嫲煲嘅湯最好飲。” (aa3 maa4 bou1 ge3 tong1 zeoi3 hou2 jam2) — “Grandma’s soup is the best.” If your 阿嫲 has you in a 著多件衫 Wear More Layers hoodie, you know the love.

5. 公公

gung1 gung1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Maternal grandfather (mum’s father).

Explanation: Reduplication is a classic Cantonese affection move — saying the character twice softens it. 公公 is specifically mum’s dad. He’s probably the one who taught you how to hold chopsticks and spent the whole yum cha letting you pile up his siu mai.

In real life: “公公行得好慢，等埋佢。” (gung1 gung1 haang4 dak1 hou2 maan6, dang2 maai4 keoi5) — “Grandpa walks slowly, wait for him.”

6. 婆婆

po4 po4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Maternal grandmother (mum’s mother).

Explanation: The 公公 and 婆婆 pair balances the 阿爺 and 阿嫲 pair. Together those four words lock down the whole grandparent generation across both sides of the family. 婆婆 is often the person who sends you home with a tupperware full of slow-cooked herbal soup no matter how many times you say you’re not hungry. The soup-pot caption lives on our 飲湯 Yum Tung oversized tee.

In real life: “婆婆成日煲湯畀我飲。” (po4 po4 seng4 jat6 bou1 tong1 bei2 ngo5 jam2) — “Grandma’s always making soup for me.”

Siblings and Aunts, Uncles

7. 細佬

sai3 lou2 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Younger brother. Literally “small guy.”

Explanation: Beautifully Cantonese — 細 means small, 佬 means a guy, so 細佬 is “little guy” which gets drafted as the word for a younger brother. The same word is also used by older men to address a younger stranger in a friendly way, like calling someone “boss” or “chief” in English.

In real life: “我細佬好曳。” (ngo5 sai3 lou2 hou2 jai5) — “My little brother is such a brat.”

8. 家姐

gaa1 ze1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Older sister.

Explanation: The 家 character means family or home, so 家姐 translates literally to “home sister” — the older sister who’s part of the household structure. In practice she’s probably the one who taught you how to use chopsticks, lent you her Octopus card when yours ran out, and told your mum when you came home late.

In real life: “家姐借咗部電話畀我用。” (gaa1 ze1 ze3 zo2 bou6 din6 waa2 bei2 ngo5 jung6) — “My older sister let me borrow her phone.”

9. 舅父

kau5 fu6 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Mum’s brother (maternal uncle).

Explanation: Here’s where English fails and Cantonese holds the line — English just says “uncle,” but Cantonese tells you exactly which uncle. 舅父 is specifically your mum’s brother. Dad’s younger brother is 叔叔, dad’s older brother is 伯伯. If you ever hear a Cantonese auntie quizzing a kid on relatives at Lunar New Year, this is what she’s testing.

In real life: “舅父畀咗個大利是我。” (kau5 fu6 bei2 zo2 go3 daai6 lai6 si6 ngo5) — “My uncle gave me a huge red packet.”

Hong Kong alleyway at night glowing with neon signs — The streets where Cantonese kids first learn to shout for their relatives — Photo via Pexels

10. 阿姨

aa3 ji1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Mum’s younger sister (maternal auntie); also a general term for any auntie-aged woman.

Explanation: Technically 阿姨 is your mum’s younger sister, but in Cantonese it’s also used as a polite way to address almost any woman around your mum’s age — a family friend, a shop auntie, your dim sum cart lady at yum cha. Nobody’s offended; it’s a sign of respect. The character 姨 (ji1) is reserved for your mum’s side; your dad’s sister is 姑媽 (gu1 maa1).

In real life: “唔該阿姨，再嚟多個蝦餃。” (m4 goi1 aa3 ji1, zoi3 lai4 do1 go3 haa1 gaau2) — “Excuse me auntie, one more plate of har gow please.”

Why Cantonese Family Words Hit Different

English flattens an entire family tree into about four words. Cantonese does the opposite — it tells you precisely who’s who. That specificity isn’t pedantry; it’s a cultural map. Which grandparent is paternal and which is maternal still matters at banquet seating, at Lunar New Year, at a wedding, at a funeral. Which uncle is older or younger decides who pours tea first. Learning these ten words isn’t just vocabulary — it’s learning how a Cantonese family sees itself.

If this list made you miss your 阿嫲 or want to call your 公公 this weekend, that’s the whole point. The 早啲返屋企 Come Home Earlier oversized tee was literally built around the phrase every Cantonese parent ends a phone call with — so you can carry them with you even when you’re half a world away from the kitchen they came from.