How to Say “Aunt on my mothers side” in Chinese
Relationships and family · HSK 4
"Aunt on my mothers side" in Chinese is 姨妈 (Yímā). Chinese family terms are wildly specific; there's no single word for 'aunt.' 姨妈 (yímā) is your mother's older sister; 小姨 (xiǎo yí) is her younger sister.
Primary translation
姨妈
Yímā
Traditional: 姨媽
Variants by register
Formal
姨母
Yímǔ
Casual
阿姨
Āyí
When to use it
Chinese family terms are wildly specific; there's no single word for 'aunt.' 姨妈 (yímā) is your mother's older sister; 小姨 (xiǎo yí) is her younger sister. This is completely different from your father's sister, who is 姑妈 (gūmā). Get it wrong and Chinese relatives will gently correct you all night. 阿姨 (āyí) is also used for any unrelated middle-aged woman as a polite address (a shopkeeper, your kid's teacher), so context matters. Funnily, 大姨妈 ('big maternal aunt') is also slang for a woman's period.
Example sentences
我姨妈住在上海。
Wǒ yímā zhù zài Shànghǎi.
My (maternal) aunt lives in Shanghai.
这是我妈妈的妹妹，我叫她小姨。
Zhè shì wǒ māma de mèimei, wǒ jiào tā xiǎo yí.
This is my mom's younger sister, I call her Little Auntie.
姨妈做的红烧肉特别好吃。
Yímā zuò de hóngshāoròu tèbié hǎochī.
The braised pork my aunt makes is especially delicious.