<p>First of all, 堂 and 表 are now mainly used in formal language, such as a kinship notarial certificate. We rarely use those terms in oral speech.</p>
<p>The <strong>completely</strong> male-side cousins are called 堂房, abbreviated to 堂. Other cousins are called 中表, abbreviated to 表.</p>
<p>Father is male and father's brother is male - 堂</p>
<p>Father's sister is female - 表</p>
<p>Mother is female - 表</p>
<hr />
<p>Father's brother's son, older than ego - 堂兄</p>
<p>Father's brother's son, younger than ego - 堂弟</p>
<p>Father's brother's daughter, older than ego - 堂姐</p>
<p>Father brother's daughter, younger than ego - 堂妹</p>
<hr />
<p>Father's sister's son, older than ego - 表兄</p>
<p>Father's sister's son, younger than ego - 表弟</p>
<p>Father's sister's daughter, older than ego - 表姐</p>
<p>Father sister's daughter, younger than ego - 表妹</p>
<hr />
<p>Mother's sibling's son, older than ego - 表兄</p>
<p>Mother's sibling's son, younger than ego - 表弟</p>
<p>Mother's sibling's daughter, older than ego - 表姐</p>
<p>Mother's sibling's daughter, younger than ego - 表妹</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-04T02:39:17.980Z
2020-12-04T03:04:19.883Z
2020-12-04T03:04:19.883Z
Victor
<p>Your mom is correct:</p>
<p>Dad’s brothers' son (if older than you) - 堂兄</p>
<p>Dad’s brothers' son (if younger than you) - 堂弟</p>
<p>Dad’s brothers' daughter (if older than you) - 堂姐</p>
<p>Dad’s brothers' daughter (if younger than you) - 堂妹</p>
<p>All other cousins by birth, ie, dad's sisters' children and mom's siblings' children:</p>
<p>Older male cousins - 表兄</p>
<p>Younger male cousins - 表弟</p>
<p>Older female cousins - 表姐</p>
<p>Younger female cousins - 表妹</p>
<p>Your &quot;堂&quot; cousins are those who share your family name. In a patriarchal society, they are considered closer, and thus have a different address term.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-17T03:23:27.537Z
@Wisesequoia If a couple decide their children to use their mother's surname, then this action is called 倒插门, where mother's brother's children are 堂, mother's sister's children are 表, father's sibling's children are 表. In short, 堂 is for the same surname, and 表 is for different surnames.
Victor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-01T22:52:51.790Z
so what about the book? did it change?
Redwood
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T00:43:48.343Z
Not sure what you mean. Your father's sisters' children are your 表兄,表弟,表姐 and 表妹, NOT 堂兄,堂弟,堂姐,堂妹. Also note that these address terms are reciprocal. Your father's sisters' children are your 表-cousin; you are also their 表-cousin, since you are their mother's brother's child.
monalisa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T01:08:23.637Z
We use 堂 for cousins with the same surname, but shouldn't we change it? Since, now men don't always carry the last name. What if a couple decides to keep the female's last name?
Redwood
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T02:10:14.083Z
@Wisesequoia There is no regulation about this, only tradition. When someone decides to break the tradition, they must decide by himself how these would apply, maybe also negotiating with relative parties. There is no rule to follow from there.
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T04:48:38.143Z
@Wisesequoia, I thought about that too, but men carrying the family name is still by far the norm. That's why I added the part about a patriarchal society. If and when society evolves into something else, I am sure the language will adapt.
monalisa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-01T22:39:49.017Z
2020-12-01T22:39:49.017Z
monalisa
<p>This might differ from region to region.</p>
<p>In addition to monalisa's anwser:</p>
<p>From where my mother was born (somewhere around Baoding), children of mother's female siblings are prefixed with &quot;姨&quot;: 姨兄 姨弟 姨姐 姨妹</p>
<p>Also, for 堂兄, 堂弟, 堂姐, 堂妹, when we call each other, we just use 哥哥，弟弟，姐姐，妹妹, or some derived terms, such as 大哥, 二哥. There word with &quot;堂&quot; seems only used when introducing the explicit relationship to others. Even in this situation, there is a word that is used more often used than &quot;堂&quot;, which is &quot;叔伯&quot;, like 他是我的叔伯哥哥 （instead of 他是我的堂兄).</p>
<p>Again, all above might be regional usage.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T02:07:39.993Z
wow that's pretty cool. Although, I think 堂 and 表 are the standard versions. Since both my parents recognize it, and they come from different regions.
Redwood
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T03:38:26.887Z
Exactly. 堂X/表X is too formal and too distant to be used in front of one's cousin himself/herself.
Winfred Huang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T02:05:04.697Z
2020-12-02T02:16:46.743Z
2020-12-02T02:16:46.743Z
fefe
<p>Dad’s sibling’s son (if older than you) - 堂兄</p>
<p>Dad’s sibling’s son (if younger than you) - 堂弟</p>
<p>Dad’s sibling’s daughter (if older than you) - 堂姐</p>
<p>Dad’s sibling’s daughter (if younger than you) - 堂妹</p>
<p>Is this right? My mom says a dad's female sibling's offspring is not 堂妹、堂姐。My book says it is. Who is right?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-02T02:28:30.890Z
可能我对address理解得不对，如果仅是"称呼"的话，中文里同辈之间完全可以像英文里那样，直接叫他们的名字。
Zhang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-03T13:12:11.293Z
A quick way of knowing is by your cousins' surname (provided everyone married someone with a different surname). If you have the same surname as your cousin, you are 堂 (from the same paternal genealogy tree), otherwise, 表.
Daniel Cheung
<terminology>
How do I address cousins?
# How do I address cousins?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-01)

Dad’s sibling’s son (if older than you) - 堂兄

Dad’s sibling’s son (if younger than you) - 堂弟

Dad’s sibling’s daughter (if older than you) - 堂姐

Dad’s sibling’s daughter (if younger than you) - 堂妹

Is this right? My mom says a dad's female sibling's offspring is not 堂妹、堂姐。My book says it is. Who is right?

**Tags:** terminology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 可能我对address理解得不对，如果仅是"称呼"的话，中文里同辈之间完全可以像英文里那样，直接叫他们的名字。  
> **username_2**: A quick way of knowing is by your cousins' surname (provided everyone married someone with a different surname). If you have the same surname as your cousin, you are 堂 (from the same paternal genealogy tree), otherwise, 表.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-12-04. Score: 1

First of all, 堂 and 表 are now mainly used in formal language, such as a kinship notarial certificate. We rarely use those terms in oral speech.

The **completely** male-side cousins are called 堂房, abbreviated to 堂. Other cousins are called 中表, abbreviated to 表.

Father is male and father's brother is male - 堂

Father's sister is female - 表

Mother is female - 表

---

Father's brother's son, older than ego - 堂兄

Father's brother's son, younger than ego - 堂弟

Father's brother's daughter, older than ego - 堂姐

Father brother's daughter, younger than ego - 堂妹

---

Father's sister's son, older than ego - 表兄

Father's sister's son, younger than ego - 表弟

Father's sister's daughter, older than ego - 表姐

Father sister's daughter, younger than ego - 表妹

---

Mother's sibling's son, older than ego - 表兄

Mother's sibling's son, younger than ego - 表弟

Mother's sibling's daughter, older than ego - 表姐

Mother's sibling's daughter, younger than ego - 表妹


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-12-01. Score: 0

Your mom is correct:

Dad’s brothers' son (if older than you) - 堂兄

Dad’s brothers' son (if younger than you) - 堂弟

Dad’s brothers' daughter (if older than you) - 堂姐

Dad’s brothers' daughter (if younger than you) - 堂妹

All other cousins by birth, ie, dad's sisters' children and mom's siblings' children:

Older male cousins - 表兄

Younger male cousins - 表弟

Older female cousins - 表姐

Younger female cousins - 表妹

Your "堂" cousins are those who share your family name. In a patriarchal society, they are considered closer, and thus have a different address term.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: so what about the book? did it change?  
> **username_4**: Not sure what you mean. Your father's sisters' children are your 表兄,表弟,表姐 and 表妹, NOT 堂兄,堂弟,堂姐,堂妹. Also note that these address terms are reciprocal. Your father's sisters' children are your 表-cousin; you are also their 表-cousin, since you are their mother's brother's child.  
> **username_0**: We use 堂 for cousins with the same surname, but shouldn't we change it? Since, now men don't always carry the last name. What if a couple decides to keep the female's last name?  
> **username_5**: @Wisesequoia There is no regulation about this, only tradition. When someone decides to break the tradition, they must decide by himself how these would apply, maybe also negotiating with relative parties. There is no rule to follow from there.  
> **username_4**: @Wisesequoia, I thought about that too, but men carrying the family name is still by far the norm. That's why I added the part about a patriarchal society. If and when society evolves into something else, I am sure the language will adapt.  
> **username_3**: @Wisesequoia If a couple decide their children to use their mother's surname, then this action is called 倒插门, where mother's brother's children are 堂, mother's sister's children are 表, father's sibling's children are 表. In short, 堂 is for the same surname, and 表 is for different surnames.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-12-02. Score: 0

This might differ from region to region.

In addition to username_4's anwser:

From where my mother was born (somewhere around Baoding), children of mother's female siblings are prefixed with "姨": 姨兄 姨弟 姨姐 姨妹

Also, for 堂兄, 堂弟, 堂姐, 堂妹, when we call each other, we just use 哥哥，弟弟，姐姐，妹妹, or some derived terms, such as 大哥, 二哥. There word with "堂" seems only used when introducing the explicit relationship to others. Even in this situation, there is a word that is used more often used than "堂", which is "叔伯", like 他是我的叔伯哥哥 （instead of 他是我的堂兄).

Again, all above might be regional usage.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: wow that's pretty cool. Although, I think 堂 and 表 are the standard versions. Since both my parents recognize it, and they come from different regions.  
> **username_6**: Exactly. 堂X/表X is too formal and too distant to be used in front of one's cousin himself/herself.  

---

