Custom "Dear Grandfather" or "Loving Grandfather" Chinese Calligraphy

Before you see all of the listings below, you should note that there are several ways to say "Grandfather". And you might as well learn about some of the complexities of other family terms in Chinese...

Unlike English, in Chinese, there is a different name for every family member depending on if they are on your mother's side or father's side. For some family titles such as brothers, sisters, and cousins, the names vary depending on age differences. For instance, a male cousin on your mother's side who is older than you is your "biao ge". If this cousin was younger, female, or on your father's side, the title-name changes.

Luckily for grandparents, there is not an older or younger issue. However, there are northern and southern terms for grandparents in China. I guess this is like in America, you might say "sofa" or "couch" depending on where you are from, and if you are from a generation ago, a "sofa" is a "davenport".

For "Grandfather", there is paternal and maternal term which is set in stone. You would NEVER use a paternal term for your maternal grandfather, and vice versa.

The northern and southern Chinese terms are more flexible - sometimes they are mixed depending on the family. And if there was a marriage between a northern family and southern family, all bets are off as to what someone is going to call their grandfather.

Neither the northern nor southern terms are incorrect - and no matter where they are from, north or south, everybody knows both terms. I will leave it to you if you feel more northern or sothern Chinese.

You'll also find one case of an informal grandfather term which is probably the English equivalent of saying "grandpa" or "pappy"

It would "feel strange" to just have "grandfather" on a wall scroll alone. To be a proper gift, and to "feel right", you need to say something about your grandfather. Therefore you will find the Chinese word for "dear" or "loving" in front of each grandfather term. If you really want just a plain "grandfather" without the adjective, or you want a different adjective, just email me - we'll be happy to help.

Please note that the characters in the boxes below are written in the traditional way, vertically from right to left - so it works out that the term for grandfather appears in the left column.
It's a little tough to correctly display and explain passages of Chinese characters for an English audience when we read English from left to right, and are not used to seeing something in written form that starts on the right.

Quick links to words on this page...

Loving Grandfather Loving Grandfather Dear Grandfather Loving Grandfather Loving Grandfather Honor for Ancestors

Loving Grandfather Maternal (Northern China) cí xiáng de lǎo ye This is what you would call your maternal grandfather (mother's father) in Northern China with the adjective/title "Dear" on the front. Dear Grandfather Maternal (Northern China) qín ài de lǎo ye This is what you would call your maternal grandfather (mother's father) in Northern China with the adjective/title "Dear" on the front. Loving Grandfather Maternal (Southern China) cí xiáng de wài zǔ fù Characters shown above are read vertically, starting from the right This is "Loving Grandfather" in the formal way that people in Southern China usually call their mother's father (maternal grandfather). Loving Grandfather Maternal (Southern China - Informal) cí xiáng de wài gōng This is "Loving Grandfather" using an informal way to call your maternal grandfather (mother's father) in Southern China. Dear Grandfather Maternal (Southern China) qín ài de wài zǔ fù Characters shown above are read vertically, starting from the right This is the formal way that people in Southern China usually call their mother's father (maternal grandfather) with the adjective/title "Dear" on the front. Dear Grandfather Maternal (Southern China - Informal) qín ài de wài gōng This is an informal way to call your maternal grandfather (mother's father) in Southern China with the adjective/title "Dear" on the front. Loving Grandfather Paternal (Northern China) cí xiáng de yé ye This is "Loving Grandfather" using the most common way for people in Northern China to refer to their father's father (paternal grandfather). Back to the top of this page Dear Grandfather Paternal (Northern China) qín ài de yé ye This is the most common way for people in Northern China to refer to their father's father (paternal grandfather) with the adjective/title "Dear" on the front. Loving Grandfather Paternal (Southern China) cí xiáng de zǔ fù This is "Loving Grandfather" in the way people in Southern China call their father's father (paternal grandfather). Dear Grandfather Paternal (Southern China) qín ài de zǔ fù This is the how people in Southern China call their father's father (paternal grandfather) with the adjective/title "Dear" on the front. Back to the top of this page Honor for Ancestors zǔ xiān chóng bài so sen suu hai This means "Appreciation and honor of your ancestors". This can refer to anyone from your grandparents and beyond. The first two characters mean ancestors or forefathers. The last two characters mean adore, worship, adoration, or admiration. This is the kind of wall scroll that a filial son or daughter in China or Japan would hang to honor their ancestors who paved the way for the new generation. Japanese use a slight variation on the last Kanji. If you want this specifically Japanese version, just click on the Kanji image to the right (instead of the button above). Note that Japanese people would easily be able to identify the original Chinese form of that Kanji anyway. They also have a similar phrase in old Korean, but the first two characters are reversed - just let me know if you want that version when you place your order.

Dear Grandfather Loving Grandfather Dear Grandfather Dear Grandfather Dear Grandfather