How to Say “My in-laws” in Chinese
Relationships and family
"My in-laws" in Chinese is 我的公婆 (Wǒ de gōngpó). Unlike English's one-size-fits-all 'in-laws,' Chinese splits this four ways depending on whose parents they are. A wife calls her husband's parents 公公 (gōnggong, father-in-law) and 婆婆 (pópo, mother-in-law); together 公婆.
Primary translation
我的公婆
Wǒ de gōngpó
Variants by register
Formal
我的公婆 / 我的岳父岳母
Wǒ de gōngpó / Wǒ de yuèfù yuèmǔ
Casual
公公婆婆 / 老丈人老丈母娘
Gōnggong pópo / Lǎozhàngrén lǎozhàngmǔniáng
When to use it
Unlike English's one-size-fits-all 'in-laws,' Chinese splits this four ways depending on whose parents they are. A wife calls her husband's parents 公公 (gōnggong, father-in-law) and 婆婆 (pópo, mother-in-law); together 公婆. A husband calls his wife's parents 岳父 (yuèfù) and 岳母 (yuèmǔ), casually 老丈人 / 老丈母娘. 婆媳关系 (pó-xí guānxì, mother-in-law / daughter-in-law relationship) is a huge cultural topic; countless TV dramas revolve around it. When speaking to them directly, most people just say 爸 and 妈.
Example sentences
我公婆住在上海。
Wǒ gōngpó zhù zài Shànghǎi.
My in-laws (husband's parents) live in Shanghai.
周末我们要去看岳父岳母。
Zhōumò wǒmen yào qù kàn yuèfù yuèmǔ.
This weekend we're going to visit my in-laws (wife's parents).
我婆婆对我特别好。
Wǒ pópo duì wǒ tèbié hǎo.
My mother-in-law is especially nice to me.
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