Grade One Chinese Lesson 2: Body Parts and Family Terms
Learn essential Chinese body parts and family terms for first grade students. Master characters like 人, 口, 手, 爸, 妈 with pinyin, English translations, and audio.
Lesson Overview
In this lesson, you will learn characters for body parts and family members. These are essential vocabulary items that you will use frequently in daily conversations.
Body Parts (身体部位)
人 (rén) - Person / People
- Character: 人
- Pinyin: rén
- English: person, people
- Stroke Order: Left 撇 and right 捺
Examples:
- 中国人 (Zhōngguó rén) - Chinese person
- 大人 (dà rén) - adult
口 (kǒu) - Mouth
- Character: 口
- Pinyin: kǒu
- English: mouth
- Stroke Order: Enclosure character, top, left, right, bottom
Examples:
- 开口 (kāi kǒu) - to open mouth
- 人口 (rén kǒu) - population
手 (shǒu) - Hand
- Character: 手
- Pinyin: shǒu
- English: hand
- Stroke Order: Horizontal, vertical, and cross strokes
Examples:
- 握手 (wò shǒu) - to shake hands
- 手指 (shǒu zhǐ) - finger
足 (zú) - Foot
- Character: 足
- Pinyin: zú
- English: foot
- Stroke Order: Mouth part on top, vertical and horizontal at bottom
Examples:
- 足球 (zú qiú) - soccer
- 满足 (mǎn zú) - to satisfy
头 (tóu) - Head
- Character: 头
- Pinyin: tóu
- English: head
- Stroke Order: Two dots, horizontal, then大
Examples:
- 头发 (tóu fa) - hair
- 点头 (diǎn tóu) - to nod
耳 (ěr) - Ear
- Character: 耳
- Pinyin: ěr
- English: ear
- Stroke Order: Horizontal lines and vertical strokes
Examples:
- 耳朵 (ěr duo) - ear
- 耳机 (ěr jī) - headphones
目 (mù) - Eye
- Character: 目
- Pinyin: mù
- English: eye
- Stroke Order: Horizontal enclosure with vertical lines
Examples:
- 目光 (mù guāng) - gaze
- 目的 (mù dì) - purpose
鼻 (bí) - Nose
- Character: 鼻
- Pinyin: bí
- English: nose
- Stroke Order: Top自, then畐
Examples:
- 鼻子 (bí zi) - nose
- 鼻炎 (bí yán) - rhinitis
嘴 (zuǐ) - Mouth (informal)
- Character: 嘴
- Pinyin: zuǐ
- English: mouth, lips
- Stroke Order: 口 components and 此
Examples:
- 嘴巴 (zuǐ ba) - mouth
- 张嘴 (zhāng zuǐ) - open mouth
心 (xīn) - Heart
- Character: 心
- Pinyin: xīn
- English: heart
- Stroke Order: Dot, left point, right point, center钩
Examples:
- 心情 (xīn qíng) - mood
- 开心 (kāi xīn) - happy
Family Terms (家庭称谓)
爸 (bà) - Father (informal)
- Character: 爸
- Pinyin: bà
- English: dad, father
- Stroke Order: 父 on top, then巴
Examples:
- 爸爸 (bà ba) - father, dad
- 老爸 (lǎo bà) - old man / dad
妈 (mā) - Mother (informal)
- Character: 妈
- Pinyin: mā
- English: mom, mother
- Stroke Order: 女 and 马
Examples:
- 妈妈 (mā ma) - mother, mom
- 老妈 (lǎo mā) - mom
爷 (yé) - Grandfather (paternal)
- Character: 爷
- Pinyin: yé
- English: grandfather
- Stroke Order: 父 and 卩
Examples:
- 爷爷 (yé ye) - paternal grandfather
- 老爷爷 (lǎo yé ye) - great-grandfather
奶 (nǎi) - Grandmother (paternal)
- Character: 奶
- Pinyin: nǎi
- English: grandmother, milk
- Stroke Order: 女 and 乃
Examples:
- 奶奶 (nǎi nai) - paternal grandmother
- 牛奶 (niú nǎi) - milk
哥 (gē) - Older Brother
- Character: 哥
- Pinyin: gē
- English: older brother
- Stroke Order: Two 可 characters stacked
Examples:
- 哥哥 (gē ge) - older brother
- 大哥 (dà gē) - big brother
姐 (jiě) - Older Sister
- Character: 姐
- Pinyin: jiě
- English: older sister
- Stroke Order: 女 and 且
Examples:
- 姐姐 (jiě jie) - older sister
- 小姐 (xiǎo jiě) - young lady
弟 (dì) - Younger Brother
- Character: 弟
- Pinyin: dì
- English: younger brother
- Stroke Order: 弟 with 弓 and 丨
Examples:
- 弟弟 (dì di) - younger brother
- 兄弟 (xiōng dì) - brothers
妹 (mèi) - Younger Sister
- Character: 妹
- Pinyin: mèi
- English: younger sister
- Stroke Order: 女 and 未
Examples:
- 妹妹 (mèi mei) - younger sister
- 姐妹 (jiě mèi) - sisters
Practice Tips
- Point and Say: Point to body parts on yourself or others and say the Chinese word
- Family Tree: Create a family tree using these characters
- Listen Carefully: Pay attention to the tones - many family terms have distinct tones
- Role Play: Practice introducing your family members
Summary
In this lesson, you learned:
- Body parts: 人, 口, 手, 足, 头, 耳, 目, 鼻, 嘴, 心
- Family terms: 爸, 妈, 爷, 奶, 哥, 姐, 弟, 妹
Practice these characters daily to build your vocabulary foundation!
Next Steps
After mastering these characters, proceed to Lesson 3 where you’ll learn nature-related characters.