Chinese genealogy quick reference glossary

This is a list of common words and terms for Chinese genealogical research. Use CMD+F (Mac) or CTL+F for a PC to quickly search as the list grows.

Family terms

Word (pinyin / jyutping)ChineseDescription
AhA naming convention. See What is the Chinese name Ah?
mugrave
nianYear. You will see this on grave markers.
riDay. You will find this on grave markers.
Shee / Shi / Sze / SeeLoosely: wife from the family of. For more, see All Chinese wives are called Shee.
shengBirth. You will find this on grave markers.
shi shi逝世pass away (die)
tai tai太太(Chief) wife
yueMonth. You will find this on grave markers.
zupu族譜Family tree, China-style
Table of family terms

Historic Places

Word (pinyin / jyutping)Chinese (traditional or simplified)Description
Canton / Guangzhou / Kwangchow廣州 or 广州The city of Guangzhou, Guangdong
ChinaMeaning: Middle Kingdom
DistrictExample: Panyu District 番禺区
Enping / Yanping恩平The “4 counties” of Enping, Kaiping, Taishan, and Xinhui.
Guangdong / Kwangtung廣東 or 广东The province of Guangdong
Hong Kong香港Meaning: Fragrant Harbour
Kaiping / Hoiping開平The “4 counties” of Enping, Kaiping, Taishan, and Xinhui.
Nanhai南海The “3 counties” of Nanhai, Panyu, and Shunde.
Panyu / Punyu番禺The “3 counties” of Nanhai, Panyu, and Shunde.
Sam Yup / Sanyi南番順The “3 counties” of Nanhai, Panyu, and Shunde.
ShengProvince. Example: Guangdong Province 廣東省
Shunde / Seon Dak / Shuntak顺德The “3 counties” of Nanhai, Panyu, and Shunde.
Sze Yup (J: sei jap) / Siyi四邑Meaning: The 4 Counties.
Taishan / Toisan / Hoisan / Sunning台山The “4 counties” of Enping, Kaiping, Taishan, and Xinhui.
Xinhui / Sunwei / Sunwui / Kuixiang新會The “4 counties” of Enping, Kaiping, Taishan, and Xinhui.
Wuyi (J: Ng Yap)五邑The “4 counties” of Enping, Kaiping, Taishan, and Xinhui, plus Heshan.
Table of historic places

Concepts

Word (pinyin / jyutping)ChineseDescription
guanxi / gwaan-hai關係Guanxi is a system of interrelationships, family, connection, community, and power. It’s how things get done.
Table of select Chinese concepts

Resources

Chinese genealogical word list, Family Search. For a comprehensive list of words in Chinese and pinyin (only – no Cantonese), see this list.