There are different ways to say father and mother in Chinese.
The most popular one is:
Father : 爸爸 (bà ba)
Mother : 妈妈 (mā ma)
Or just
爸 (bà)
妈 (mā)
Which can be combined into
爸妈 (bà mā) meaning parents.
It can also be combined with the familiar term of address 阿 A. That is used as a form of endearment.
阿爸 (A-ba)
阿媽 (A-ma)
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A bit more formal way to address father and mother is
Father : 父亲 (fù qīn)
Mother : 母亲 (mǔ qīn)
Which can be combined into
父母 (fù mǔ) or
父母亲 (fù mǔ qīn)
Which also means parents.
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Another way to address father and mother is
Father : 爹 (diē)
Mother : 娘 (niáng)
And the word for parents becomes
爹娘 (diē niáng)
It can also be combined with the familiar term of address 阿 A. That is used as a form of endearment.
阿爹 (A-diē)
阿娘 (A-niáng)
I read these terms many times in novels, heard these terms many times in films. Some say that these terms are more commonly used in rural areas. I can not verify that.
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There is another way to address father and mother in Chinese.
Father : 令尊 (lìng zūn)
Mother : 令堂 (lìng táng)
Which strikes me as very old fashioned and extremely polite and respectful. I have only seen these terms appear mostly in classic works. And I don't think these two words can be shortened into a two-character word for parents.
On the contrary, it is often expanded into
令尊大人 (lìng zūn dà rén)
令堂大人 (lìng táng dà rén)
To be even more polite and respectful.
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There is another way to address father and mother in Chinese, but this terms are used by royal families.
Father : 父王 (Fuwang)
Mother : 母后 (Muhou)
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For more information:
https://www.mslmaster.com/index.php/teaching-learning-resources/10-resources/136-how-to-say-father-and-mother-in-chinese
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/ChineseSiblingTerminology
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Chinese Terms, Honorifics And Mythologies
RandomThis book provides a comprehensive guide to commonly used honorifics, terms, and units in the Chinese language. It serves as a valuable resource for individuals who are using Chinese terms to write their stories', offering explanations and examples...
