‘戚属’ (qī shǔ) is a formal, literary noun meaning ‘immediate family members’ or ‘close blood relatives’. It combines two characters: 戚 (qī), which historically means ‘intimate’ or ‘related by marriage or blood’, and 属 (shǔ), meaning ‘category’, ‘group’, or ‘affiliated persons’. Together, they denote the inner circle of kin—typically including parents, siblings, children, grandparents, and sometimes uncles/aunts and cousins—especially in official, legal, or ceremonial contexts.

This term carries a respectful, solemn tone and appears frequently in written Chinese—such as obituaries, government notices, inheritance documents, or formal speeches—but is rarely used in casual conversation. Unlike colloquial terms like 家人 (jiārén, ‘family’) or 亲戚 (qīnqi, ‘relatives’), 戚属 emphasizes lineage, shared ancestry, and formal recognition of familial ties, often implying responsibility or mutual obligation.