n.
father; dad
爸爸
Common Usage & Traps
- 我爸爸 — my dad (the everyday spoken form)
- 爸爸，我回来了！ — Dad, I'm home! (using 爸爸 to address him directly)
- 爸爸妈妈 — dad and mom; the parents
- 爸爸的爸爸 — dad's dad (the long way of saying 爷爷)
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我的爸爸是医生。我爸爸是医生。Grammatically fine, but it sounds like a form you filled out at the hospital. Close family drops 的 in normal speech.
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我有一个爸爸。我有爸爸。 / 我爸爸……Close relatives are treated as one-of-a-kind, so 一个 sounds like you're counting them. English 'I have one father' has the same weird ring.
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我爸爸车很大。我爸爸的车很大。You can drop 的 before the person (我爸爸), but not before a thing he owns. The car still needs its 的.
Why does 我爸爸 sound normal in a WeChat message but 我的爸爸 sound stiff?
Close family drops 的 in speech; 我爸爸 is the default, 我的爸爸 sounds like paperwork.
Chinese lets you skip 的 when the relationship is close and permanent, and your dad counts as close. So 我爸爸 is what people actually say, while 我的爸爸 survives mainly in writing or when you're pointing at him and stressing 'mine'. The same shortcut covers 我妈, 我哥, 我老板. Watch the boundary though: you can drop 的 before the person, but not before the thing they own. 我爸爸的车 keeps its 的, 我爸爸车 does not fly.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Daily chat | 我爸爸今天加班。 | 我的爸爸今天加班。 |
| Two relatives at once | 我爸妈都来了。 | 我的爸爸和我的妈妈都来了。 |
| Stuff he owns | 我爸爸的车 | 我爸爸车 |
Is 爸爸 pronounced bàbà with two full tones, or bàba?
It's bàba — the second 爸 is light and short, not a full fourth tone.
Reduplicated family words lighten the second syllable almost every time. 爸爸, 妈妈, 哥哥, 姐姐, 弟弟, 妹妹 all follow this pattern. Hit the first one strong, then let the second one fall flat and quick. If you punch both syllables at full fourth tone, you sound like a dictionary recording, not a person calling their dad.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary pinyin | bàba | bàbà |
| Second syllable | light, short, toneless | full falling tone |
| Same family of words | māma, gēge, jiějie | māmā, gēgē, jiějiě |
Why does the rhyme say 爸爸的爸爸 instead of just 爷爷?
爷爷 is the real word people use; 爸爸的爸爸 is spelled out on purpose to teach kids the family tree.
Chinese has one fixed word per relative and adults just use it: 爷爷, 奶奶, 外公, 外婆. The long chain form turns up in songs and children's books because it walks a kid through the tree one link at a time. Say 爸爸的爸爸 to your grandpa in real life and it lands like a riddle, not a name. “宝宝，宝宝，我问你， 爸爸的爸爸叫什么？” (Sweetie, sweetie, let me ask you — what do you call Daddy's daddy?) ── [《我的家人（1）》](/read/my-family-members-1#s1)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Talking about him | 爷爷今年七十了。 | 爸爸的爸爸今年七十了。 |
| Calling him at dinner | 爷爷，吃饭了！ | 爸爸的爸爸，吃饭了！ |
| Kids' rhyme and teaching | 爸爸的爸爸叫什么？ | — |
Appears in Stories 2 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
This simple story introduces you to a family and what each member likes to do. Learn helpful words for food and daily activities as you read about Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and the kids.
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爸爸 喝热茶妈妈吃冷菜。
Before you read, meet the grandparents! This rhyming chant helps you practice the different names for maternal and paternal grandparents in Chinese. Listen to the beat and repeat.
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宝宝，宝宝，我问你， 爸爸 的 爸爸 叫什么？
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爸爸 的 爸爸 叫爷爷。
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