<p>In the context of standard Mandarin, the main difference is that the former one listed in all your three groups are used in more formal situations while the latter ones are more colloquial.</p>

<p>Besides those you have mentioned, in colloquial Mandarin it is also common to use monosyllable words when talking with family members or referring to family members. Such as 爸，我回来了。and 我爸去年刚退休。Monosyllable words like 父 and 母, on the other hand, are usually used to form compound words like 父母, 生母, 养母.</p>

<p>There are other words that refer to family members that sounds old-fashioned and are used as the honorifics. For example, 令尊 is "your father" and 令堂 are "your father" and "your mother" with honorific tones, respectively. It is not suggested to use these unless you are sure that it is the appropriate situation to use them.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-07T17:02:11.173Z
2018-02-07T17:25:49.850Z
2018-02-07T17:25:49.850Z
Weijun Zhou
<p>祖父 and 祖母 are old-fashioned and they are usually used in written to tell a old story in the old days. </p>

<p>爸爸, 爷爷 and 奶奶 are frequently used in our daily life. The single character 奶, 爷 or 爸 is common in more casual situations. </p>

<p>Well, 父亲 and 母亲 are usually used to formally clarify the father or mother relationship. For example, 这是我的父亲/母亲。You are trying to introduce your father or mother formally, indicating father-and-son or mother-and-son relationship. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-08T00:09:44.377Z
2018-02-08T00:09:44.377Z
dan
<p>祖父 父亲 is like grandfather, father, while 爷爷 爸爸 is like grandpa, dad. I think. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-08T08:59:18.997Z
2018-02-08T08:59:18.997Z
Hunter
<p>Side note in addition to other answers: Beware in the Cantonese context, 奶奶 does not mean 祖母 but rather the mother-in-law of the wife.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-19T04:54:46.310Z
2018-02-19T04:54:46.310Z
Adrian Tam
<p>I'm also curious about 祖母 vs 奶奶 , 父亲 vs 爸爸 ， and other family words.</p>

<word-choice><usage>
What situations would one use 祖父 as opposed to 爷爷?
# What situations would one use 祖父 as opposed to 爷爷?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-07)

I'm also curious about 祖母 vs 奶奶 , 父亲 vs 爸爸 ， and other family words.

**Tags:** word-choice, usage


---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-02-07. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

In the context of standard Mandarin, the main difference is that the former one listed in all your three groups are used in more formal situations while the latter ones are more colloquial.

Besides those you have mentioned, in colloquial Mandarin it is also common to use monosyllable words when talking with family members or referring to family members. Such as 爸，我回来了。and 我爸去年刚退休。Monosyllable words like 父 and 母, on the other hand, are usually used to form compound words like 父母, 生母, 养母.

There are other words that refer to family members that sounds old-fashioned and are used as the honorifics. For example, 令尊 is "your father" and 令堂 are "your father" and "your mother" with honorific tones, respectively. It is not suggested to use these unless you are sure that it is the appropriate situation to use them.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-02-08. Score: 1

祖父 and 祖母 are old-fashioned and they are usually used in written to tell a old story in the old days.

爸爸, 爷爷 and 奶奶 are frequently used in our daily life. The single character 奶, 爷 or 爸 is common in more casual situations.

Well, 父亲 and 母亲 are usually used to formally clarify the father or mother relationship. For example, 这是我的父亲/母亲。You are trying to introduce your father or mother formally, indicating father-and-son or mother-and-son relationship.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-02-08. Score: 1

祖父 父亲 is like grandfather, father, while 爷爷 爸爸 is like grandpa, dad. I think.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-02-19. Score: 0

Side note in addition to other answers: Beware in the Cantonese context, 奶奶 does not mean 祖母 but rather the mother-in-law of the wife.


---

