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In Mandarin, 公公 is usually the husband’s father. The first sense of 公公 in words.hk is 阿公, the mother’s father, read gung4 gung1, with gung1 gung1 listed beside it. The second sense is a form of address for an old man. 阿公 aa3 gung1 likewise begins with the mother’s father, also called 外公. A later sense on the same entry turns to public property: said as 「阿公嘅」, the thing belongs to the public or the government.

婆婆 is po4 po2, also po4 po1. Its first sense is the mother’s mother, with 外婆 and 外祖母 as near synonyms. 阿婆 is aa3 po4, also aa3 po1, with the same definition, and a second sense as an informal address for an older woman. The father’s side is a different pair. 爺爺 je4 je2 is the father’s father. The example is taking a grandchild to morning tea every Saturday. 嫲嫲 maa4 maa4 and 阿嫲 aa3 maa4 are both the father’s mother, near synonym 祖母.

The 阿媽 entry, aa3 maa1, is wider than “the woman who gave birth.” The explanation covers that woman; sometimes a stepmother who carries a mother’s duties; and sometimes 奶奶, the husband’s mother, or 外母, the wife’s mother. The English gloss therefore adds “in some cases, mother-in-law.” The current entry lists only aa3 maa1. It does not add aa3 maa5. 阿爸 aa3 baa4 is the male parent. 爸爸 lists baa4 baa1 and baa4 baa4. The example uses baa4 baa1. 老豆 is also written 老竇, both lou5 dau6. The 老母 example, lou5 mou2, is accompanying one’s mother to the doctor in the afternoon.

The sibling entries state their range. 家姐 gaa1 ze1 is an older female born to the same parents. A half-sibling, or someone under the same guardian, can be addressed this way too. 細佬 sai3 lou2 uses the same wording for a younger brother. 細妹 sai3 mui2 is narrower: a younger female with the same parents.

The parent’s generation is written out one relation at a time. 阿伯 aa3 baak3 is the father’s elder brother. 叔父 is tagged as written Chinese and lists only suk1 fu6, the father’s younger brother. The Cantonese example switches to 「呢個係我阿叔」 and does not use the two characters 叔父. This pass did not open a separate page for 阿叔. 姑媽 gu1 maa1 is only the father’s elder sister. 姑姐 has no entry. It appears in the see-also list on the 姑媽 page, and to-jyutping gives gu1 ze1. The entry does not say who is the younger sister, or who is only addressed that way. 姨媽 ji4 maa1 is the mother’s elder sister. The first sense of 阿姨 aa3 ji1 is the mother’s younger sister. The second is an address for a middle-aged woman, a stranger or a friend of one’s parents. 舅父 is the mother’s brother, older or younger, listed as kau3 fu2 and kau5 fu2.

老公 lou5 gung1 and 老婆 lou5 po4 are defined by legal status after marriage. 家公, 家婆, 奶奶 and 媽咪 have no entries of their own. to-jyutping gives gaa1 gung1, gaa1 po2, naai4 naai2 and maa1 mi4. These four pages do not say whom they name in a family.

The afternoon in the example about accompanying one’s mother is in time words. Seeing a doctor is in the clinic.

Sources

• LSHK Jyutping scheme
• CanCLID to-jyutping
• words.hk: 公公, 阿公, 婆婆, 阿婆, 爺爺, 嫲嫲, 阿嫲, 阿媽, 阿爸, 爸爸, 老豆, 老母, 家姐, 細佬, 細妹, 阿伯, 叔父, 姑媽, 姨媽, 阿姨, 舅父, 老公, 老婆