How to Say “Our adopted child” in Chinese
Relationships and family · HSK 4
"Our adopted child" in Chinese is 我们领养的孩子 (Wǒmen lǐngyǎng de háizi). 领养 (lǐngyǎng) and 收养 (shōuyǎng) both mean 'to adopt,' but 领养 emphasizes 'taking in and raising'; warm, parent-facing; while 收养 leans more legal/institutional, like what you'd see on adoption paperwork or a news article. The 的 (de) here turns the verb phrase into a modifier: literally 'the child we adopted.
Primary translation
我们领养的孩子
Wǒmen lǐngyǎng de háizi
Traditional: 我們領養的孩子
Variants by register
Formal
我们收养的孩子
Wǒmen shōuyǎng de háizi
When to use it
领养 (lǐngyǎng) and 收养 (shōuyǎng) both mean 'to adopt,' but 领养 emphasizes 'taking in and raising'; warm, parent-facing; while 收养 leans more legal/institutional, like what you'd see on adoption paperwork or a news article. The 的 (de) here turns the verb phrase into a modifier: literally 'the child we adopted.' Adoption still carries some social stigma in older Chinese generations, so many families deliberately drop the label after the paperwork; referring simply to 我们的孩子 (wǒmen de háizi, 'our child'). Use 领养的 only when the adoption itself is relevant to the conversation.
Example sentences
这是我们领养的孩子，来自云南。
Zhè shì wǒmen lǐngyǎng de háizi, láizì Yúnnán.
This is our adopted child, from Yunnan.
我们去年领养了一个女孩。
Wǒmen qùnián lǐngyǎng le yí ge nǚhái.
We adopted a girl last year.
领养手续比我们想象的复杂。
Lǐngyǎng shǒuxù bǐ wǒmen xiǎngxiàng de fùzá.
The adoption process was more complicated than we imagined.