When chatting with people in any language, the subject of family is bound to come up. In order to help you understand how to talk about your family in Chinese, here’s a short post about mine, all in Chinese characters:

我家有九口人。爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我。
在我家里，我是老大. 我今年二十六岁。
第一个妹妹 － 我比我妹妹大两岁。她住在我的老家。她跟她的好朋友一起住。她是大学生。她也有兼职工作。她在一个餐吧工作.
我第一个弟弟比我小四岁。以前他在美国海军陆战队工作。现在他也是大学生。他非常喜欢说唱音乐。
第二个弟弟 － 他今年二十一岁。他刚大学毕业，他的专业跟我一样。过了夏天以后，他打算搬到北京找工作。
第三个弟弟 － 他刚高中毕业，明年他也要去我另外一个弟弟上的那所大学上学。他的爱好是唱歌，他唱歌唱的特别好。
第二个妹妹 － 因为她今年十六岁了，所以可以开始学车了。她是高中学生。
第四个弟弟 － 他是中学生。 他最喜欢打棒球, 他每天都要看棒球比赛。我喜欢陪他去底特律看老虎队的比赛。
爸爸 － 我爸爸是医生。他是俄罗斯人。他喜欢听古典音乐，也喜欢游泳。
妈妈 － 现在我妈妈是大学生。她的专业是护理。我觉得她是超女人。最近她太忙了.

Now, to help you break it down a bit, here’s each sentence with characters, pinyin, and English:

我家有九口人。爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我。
wǒ jiā yǒu jiǔ kǒu rén. bà ba, mā mā, sì gè dì di, liǎng gè mèi mei, hé wǒ.
My family has nine people. My father, mother, four younger brothers, two younger sisters, and me.

I have a big family...

在我家里，我是老大. 我今年二十六岁。
zài wǒ jiā lǐ, wǒ shì lǎo dà. wǒ jīn nián èr shí liù suì.
In my family, I’m the oldest. This year I’m 26.

第一个妹妹 － 我比我妹妹大两岁。她住在我的老家。现在她跟她的好朋友一起住。她是大学生。她也有兼职工作。她在一个餐吧工作.
dì yí gè mèi mei – wǒ bǐ wǒ mèi mei dà liǎng suì. tā zhù zài wǒ de lǎo jiā. xiàn zài tā gēn tā de hǎo péng yǒu yì qǐ zhù. tā shì dà xué shēng. tā yě yǒu jiān zhí gōng zuò. tā zài yí gè cān ba gōng zuò.
First younger sister – I’m two years older than my younger sister. She lives in my hometown. Now she’s living with her good friend. She’s a university student. She also has a part-time job. She works in a bar/restaurant.

我第一个弟弟比我小四岁。以前他在美国海军陆战队工作。现在他也是大学生。他非常喜欢说唱音乐。
wǒ dì yí gè dì di bǐ wǒ xiǎo sì suì. yǐ qián tā zài měi guó hǎi jūn lù zhàn duì gōng zuò. xiàn zài tā yě shì dà xué shēng. tā fēi cháng xǐ huan shuō chàng yīn yuè.
My first younger brother is four years younger than me. Before, he worked in the US Marine Corps. Now, he’s a university student, too. He really likes rap music.

第二个弟弟 － 他今年二十一岁。他刚大学毕业，他的专业跟我一样。过了夏天以后，他打算搬到北京找工作。
dì èr gè dì di – tā jīn nián èr shí yí suì. tā gāng dà xué bì yè, tā de zhuān yè gēn wǒ yí yàng. guò le xià tiān yǐ hòu, tā dǎ suàn bān dào běi jīng zhǎo gōng zuò.
Second younger brother – This year he’s 21 years old. He just graduated from university. His major is the same as mine. After this summer, he plans to move to Beijing and find a job.

My brother and I in Yangshuo, Guangxi Province.

第三个弟弟 － 他刚高中毕业，明年他也要去我另外一个弟弟上的那所大学上学。他的爱好是唱歌，他唱歌唱的特别好。
dì sān gè dì di- tā gāng gāo zhōng bì yè, míng nián tā yě yào qù wǒ lìng wài yí gè dì di shàng de nà suǒ dà xué shàng xué. tā de ài hào shì chàng gē, tā chàng gē chàng de tè bié hǎo.
Third younger brother – He just graduated from high school, and next year he’s going to the same university as my other brother to begin his studies. His hobby is singing, and he sings incredibly well.

第二个妹妹 － 因为她今年十六岁了，所以可以开始学车了。她是高中学生。
dì èr gè mèi mei- yīn wèi tā jīn nián shí liù suì le, suǒ yǐ kě yǐ kāi shǐ xué chē le. tā shì gāo zhōng xué shēng.
Second younger sister – Because she’s 16 years old this year, so she can begin learning how to drive. She is a high school student.

第四个弟弟 － 他是中学生。 他最喜欢打棒球, 他每天都要看棒球比赛。我喜欢陪他去底特律看老虎队的比赛。
dì sì gè dì di – tā shì zhōng xué shēng. tā zuì xǐ huan dǎ bàng qiú, tā měi tiān dū yào kàn bàng qiú bǐsài. wǒ xǐ huan péi tā qù dǐ tè lǜ kàn lǎo hǔ duì de bǐ sài.
Fourth younger brother – He’s a middle school student. His favorite thing to do is play baseball. Every day, he wants to watch baseball games. I like taking him to Detroit to watch the Tigers games.

At a Tigers game!

爸爸 － 我爸爸是医生。他是俄罗斯人。他喜欢听古典音乐，也喜欢游泳。
bà ba – wǒ bà ba shì yī shēng. tā shì è luó sī rén. tā xǐ huan tīng gǔ diǎn yīn yuè, yě xǐ huan yóu yǒng.
Father – My father is a doctor. He’s Russian. He likes listening to classical music, and also swimming.

妈妈 － 现在我妈妈是大学生。她的专业是护理。我觉得她是超女人。最近她太忙了。
mā ma – xiàn zài wǒ mā ma shì dà xué shēng. tā de zhuān yè shì hù lǐ. wǒ jué de tā shì chāo nǚ rén. zuì jìn tā tài máng le.
Mother – Now my mother is a university student. Her major is nursing. I think she’s a superwoman. Recently she has been too busy.