Brother, Sister?

[Guest markinaz]

My Chinese friends in Americia and China refer to there friends as brother and sister, At first I thought it was a female thing but after my trip Im confused, After I figured out who was really family. Every new person I meet was a brother or sister, Is this something in traslation or is just how they refer to a good friend. At the rate I was going everybody was related.

[chinadave2001]

Close friends are often called brother or sister. very common.

CD

[tonado]

Cousins are also called brothers and sisters. People from the same villages also called themselves brothers and sisters.

[Dave G.]

JM calls everyone in her family "cousin." They don't use niece or nephew. I still don't understand who is related to whom!

[warpedbored]

I know! lets ask Charlotte.

[keelec]

Cousins are also called brothers and sisters. People from the same villages also called themselves brothers and sisters.

I noticed the same thing in Russia as I was trying to unravel Irina's extended family.

 

Mother, Father, Aunt, and Uncle were generally clear.

 

However, the parents of an aunt or uncle might introduced as "grandparents", as well as cousins being introduced as brothers, especially if it was a close relationship.

 

----- Clifford ----

[Orrin]

In spoken Chinese there are no gender specific pronouns such as he, she, it, his, hers, ect. They just use a single word for all, "ta" (singular), or "tamen" (plural), or "ta de" (possesive). Therefore, one always has to ask, when speaking to a Chinese, if thay are talking about another man, woman, boy, or girl.

 

In Guangdong province, and perhaps other provinces as well, people generally refer to their cousins as "brother" or "sister" .