Japanese word for my family

Learning a foreign language isn’t only about the language itself, but also about its culture, customs, and society. Family is the minimum unit of a social group, and it’s important to understand its characteristics as this is closely related to culture and customs.

When you learn how to explain your family in Japanese, it helps to expand your vocabulary and improve your communication skills in Japanese.

Compared to English, there are many more words to describe family members in Japanese. These words are according to age and the style (formal and informal). For example, what is a Japanese father-in-law called?

Let’s learn how to describe family in Japanese at JapanesePod101.com. Here’s our list of the most useful Japanese words and family member terms, as well as important information about family in Japan.

Table of Contents

1. Family in Japan – Cultural Perspective
2. Basic Family Terms
3. Terms of Relatives
4. Family Terms as a Married Person
5. Endearment Terms
6. How to Describe Family and Ask Question about Family in Japanese
7. Conclusion: How Japanesepod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. Family in Japan – Cultural Perspective

Before we move onto the actual family vocabulary, it’s important that we go over family roles in Japanese culture, family values in Japanese society, and the importance of family in Japanese culture. This will give you a better idea of what to expect from Japanese families, and give more context to the Japanese family vocabulary and phrases you’re going to learn!

1- Traditional and Modern Family in Japan

The traditional Japanese family is characterized by the 家 (Ie) or family system, which is literally translated as “household.” It refers to a home and family’s lineage, which bestows importance of kinship and loyalty to their family.

Each member of a family is expected to serve their family’s interests (rather than the individual’s) as a priority. The Japanese family is traditionally patriarchal and a household usually consists of grandparents, their son, his wife, and their children. The eldest son is expected to inherit the household assets, and he’s responsible for taking care of his parents when they get old.

In the modern Japanese family, however, the influence of the traditional ie system isn’t as strong as it used to be. A 核家族 (kaku kazoku) or “nuclear family” is very common nowadays, and consists of two parents and their children, typically centering on a married couple.

While a married couple is expected to live together with a husband’s parents in the traditional Japanese family, grandparents don’t live with a kaku kazoku in a modern Japanese family (although they are visited often).

2- Becoming a Family in Japan (Marriage)

In Japan, the 戸籍 (Koseki) or “family registration system” is mandatory to all households. It requires that the family records all changes in family composition and identity, such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces, acknowledgements of paternity, adoptions, and disrupted adoptions.

It’s required to register one person as the head of a household, and the rest of the members in a household must have the same surname as that of the head. Once a couple gets married, spouses are obligated to have the same surname, and registration of different surnames is not allowed.

Due to the traditional system and the importance of kinship as custom, marriage isn’t only a matter of the bride and groom, but also of their extended family. It’s expected that extended families from both sides are going to have a “family relationship” once a couple gets married in Japan. As such, relationships with one’s in-laws become important.

3- Expressions of Family in Japan

There are various words to name family members in Japanese.

Japanese vocabulary words to describe family count age difference, and there are particular names related to age. This is because age is regarded as one of the most important attributions in the Japanese society, which is greatly influenced by the concept of Confucianism that states seniority is highly respected.

As relationships with in-laws are also culturally important, there are particular names for them as well.

In addition, there are variations of how to express family members, ranging from very casual to formal. Which ones to use depend on the occasion.

Let’s dive into the details in the following sections, and get you started with common family words in Japanese.

2. Basic Family Terms

Now, it’s time to learn some basic Japanese words for family members. These are the words you’ll most often hear and use!

1- Basic Family Vocabularies

The formal terms are usually used for official occasions and in written form, while the informal terms are commonly used in casual situations (orally) as well as when calling a family member.

English	Formal	Informal
I / me	私（わたし	–
	watashi
father	父（ちち	お父さん
	chichi	o-tō-san
mother	母（はは）	お母さん
	haha	o-kā-san
older sister	姉（あね）	お姉さん / お姉ちゃん
	ane	o-nee-san / o-nee-chan
younger sister	妹（いもうと）	–
	imōto
older brother	兄（あに）	お兄さん / お兄ちゃん
	ani	o-nii-san / o-nii-chan
younger brother	弟（おとうと）	–
	otōto
grandfather	祖父（そふ）	おじいさん / おじいちゃん
	sofu	o-jii-san / o-jii-chan
grandmother	祖母（そぼ）	おばあさん / おばあちゃん
	sobo	o-bā-san / o-bā-chan
great grandfather	曽祖父 （そうそふ）	ひいおじいさん/ ひいおじいちゃん
	sōsofu	hii-o-jii-san / hii-o-jii-chan
great grandmother	曽祖母（そうそぼ）	ひいおばあさん/ ひいおばあちゃん
	sobo	hii-o-bā-san / hii-o-bā-chan
grandchild(ren)	孫 （まご）	ー
	mago
great grandchild(ren)	ひ孫（ひまご）	ー
	himago

Average modern Japanese families usually have 1 or 2 children.

2- More Vocabulary

• 家族 かぞく (Kazoku) : family
• 両親 りょうしん (Ryōshin) : parents (father & mother)
• 親 おや (Oya) : parent(s)
• 子供 こども (Kodomo) : child(ren)
• 兄弟 きょうだい (Kyōdai) : brothers
• 姉妹しまい (Shimai) : sisters

3- Examples

Here are some examples of Japanese phrases for family, so you have a better idea how to use the vocabulary above.

• 私の家族は、お母さん、お父さん、私、弟の4人家族です。
  Watashi no kazoku wa, o-kā-san, o-tō-san, watashi, otōto no yo-nin kazoku desu.
  My family has four members: mother, father, me, and my younger brother.
• 私は姉と妹がいる3姉妹です。
  Watashi wa ane to imōto ga iru san-shimai desu.
  I have an older sister and a younger sister, and we are three sisters.
• 私は兄と姉がいます。
  Watashi wa ani to ane ga imasu.
  I have an older brother and an older sister.
• 私は祖父と祖母が大好きです。
  Watashi wa sofu to sobo ga daisuki desu.
  I like my grandfather and grandmother very much.

To listen to the pronunciation of basic family terms, please visit Must-Know Terms for Family Members on our website.

Also, if you would like to know more about Japanese numbers, please visit our Japanese Numbers article.

The bond between a mother and a daughter is often very strong.

3. Terms of Relatives

1- Vocabulary for Relatives

• 親戚　しんせき (Shinseki) : relatives
• 叔父　おじ (Oji) : uncle
• 叔母　おば (Oba) : aunt
• 甥　おい (Oi) : nephew
• 姪　めい (Mei) : niece
• いとこ (Itoko) : cousin

2- Examples

• 私の親戚は全員東京に住んでいます。
  Watashi no shinseki wa zen’in Tōkyō ni sunde imasu.
  All my relatives live in Tokyo.
• 私は5人いとこがいます。
  Watashi wa go-nin itoko ga imasu.
  I have five cousins.
• 私の叔父と叔母は教師です。
  Watashi no oji to oba wa kyōshi desu.
  My uncle and my aunt are teachers.
• 私の姪は5歳で、甥は2歳です。
  Watashi no mei wa go-sai de, oi wa ni-sai desu.
  My niece is five years old and my nephew is two years old.

4. Family Terms as a Married Person

1- Vocabulary to Know as a Married Person

• 結婚 けっこん (Kekkon) : marriage
• 既婚 きこん (Kikon) : married
• 未婚　みこん (Mikon) : unmarried
• 離婚　りこん (Rikon) : divorce
• 夫 おっと (Otto) : husband
• 妻 つま (Tsuma) : wife
• 息子　むすこ (Musuko) : son
• 娘　むすめ (Musume) : daughter
• 義理の ぎりの (Giri no) : in-law

In order to express “XXX in-law,” add 義理の (Giri no) in front of XXX (the family member).

For example:

• 義理の両親 (Giri no ryōshin) : parents-in-law
• 義理の父 (Giri no chichi) : father-in-law
• 義理の母 (Giri no haha) : mother-in-law
• 義理の兄 (Giri no ani) : older brother-in-law
• 義理の弟 (Giri no otōto) : younger brother-in-law
• 義理の姉 (Giri no ane) : older sister-in-law
• 義理の妹 (Giri no imōto) : younger sister-in-law

2- Examples

• 私は夫と娘が1人います。
  Watashi wa otto to musume ga hitori imasu.
  I have a husband and one daughter.
• 私の義理の父と母は大阪に住んでいます。
  Watashi no giri no chichi to haha wa Ōsaka ni sunde imasu.
  My father and mother in-law live in Osaka.
• 私は既婚者で子供が2人います。
  Watashi wa kikonsha de kodomo ga futari imasu.
  I am married and I have two children.
• 私の義理の両親は、私の息子におもちゃを買いました。
  Watashi no giri no ryōshin wa, watashi no musuko ni omocha o kaimashita.
  My parents-in-law bought a toy for my son.

5. Endearment Terms

In addition to the formal and informal terms for family, there are also more casual vocabulary words that you can call family members. It may vary from household to household, or on what kind of relationships there are between family members, but here are some examples. Just note that these are typically used in Japanese family relationships that are close.

1- Father

• パパ (Papa) : papa

Like in English, “papa” is a common name to call a father in Japan, especially when children are very small. However, most Japanese people don’t use papa as they grow up.

• 父ちゃん (Tō-chan) : dad

This term includes a nuance of cute and comical affection.

• おやじ (Oyaji) : dad

This term is usually used by sons who are post-adolescent age. When they become adults, they often feel embarrassed to call their father papa or o-tō-san. This term also indicates a nuance of close affection.

2- Mother

• ママ (Mama) : mama

Just like papa, mama is used especially when children are still small.

• 母ちゃん (Kā-chan) : mom

This is the version of tō-chan used for mothers.

• お袋 (Ofukuro) : mom

This is the mother version of oyaji.

3- Grandfather

• じじ (Jiji) : grandpa

Grandchildren and their parents usually call a grandfather by this term when the grandchildren are still small. It indicates a nuance of cute affection.

• じーじ (Jīji) : grandpa

This is very similar to jiji, but the first ji is pronounced longer.

4- Grandmother

• ばば (Baba) : grandma

This is the grandmother version of jiji.

• ばーば (Bāba) : grandma

This is the grandmother version of jīji.

Grandparents often have endearing nicknames when they have grandchildren.

6. How to Describe Family and Ask Question about Family in Japanese

Most of the time, there’s no problem with talking about family and relatives. When it comes to marital status and children, however, it can be a delicate matter. It can sometimes be inappropriate to ask someone about his/her marital status or if they have children, unless he/she is open and willing to talk. This is especially true for a woman in her 30s.

Here are some example questions and answers related to family.

Q:
何人家族ですか。
Nan-nin kazoku desu ka.
How many family members do you have?

A:
お父さん、お母さん、お姉ちゃん、私の4人家族です。
O-tō-san, o-kā-san, o-nee-chan, watashi no yo-nin kazoku desu.
I have four family members: father, mother, older sister, and me.

—–

Q:
兄弟はいますか。
Kyōdai wa imasu ka.
Do you have brothers and sisters?

*When asking a question, kyōdai can also refer to sisters.

A:
私は姉と弟がいます。
Watashi wa ane to otōto ga imasu.
I have an older sister and a younger brother.

—–

Q:
結婚していますか。
Kekkon shite imasu ka.
Are you married?

A:
はい、妻と子供が2人います。
Hai, tsuma to kodomo ga futari imasu.
Yes, I have a wife and two children.

—–

Q:
孫はいますか。
Mago wa imasu ka.
Do you have grandchildren?

A:
はい、私は孫が6人います。
Hai, watashi wa mago ga roku-nin imasu.
Yes, I have six grandchildren.

—–

Q:
ご両親はお元気ですか。
Go-ryōshin wa o-genki desu ka.
How are your parents?

*It’s polite to put go in front of ryōshin when you talk about someone’s parents.

A:
はい、私の父と母は元気です。
Hai, watashi no chichi to haha wa genki desu.
Yes, my father and mother are doing well.

—–

For more about self-introductions, please visit Introducing Yourself in Japanese on our website.

7. Conclusion: How Japanesepod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

I hope this article about family in Japanese culture is useful and that it helps to improve your Japanese communication skills.

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language, you’ll find more useful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons for you to improve your Japanese language skills. For example, Must-Know Terms for Family Members is helpful if you want to practice family terms in Japanese with audio.

We also have YouTube channel: JapanesePod101. It’s always fun to learn Japanese by watching videos and listening to actual Japanese pronunciation.

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are any family terms you still want to know! And to practice, write a short paragraph about your family in basic Japanese. We look forward to hearing from you!

When learning a new language and meeting new people, one of the most common topics you will encounter will undoubtedly be about your family.

Who do you live with? What are your parents like? How many siblings do you have?

The topic may seem simple enough, however in Japanese, the way to talk about it may be a little trickier than expected. This is because Japanese, as we know, is a language that incorporates honorifics and varying levels of politeness depending on who and what you are talking about. That being so, the words you will use to describe family will also change depending on the situation.

Unlike English, Japanese family members have different terms depending on whether you are talking about your family or a friend’s, and if you are talking to a friend, teacher, coworker, or boss. The difference could be as simple as adding an honorific prefix (o-, go-), or as complex as using a completely different word.

Looking at the chart below, you will see there is one main thing to keep in mind when talking about family: whose family it is you’re talking about!

When talking about someone else’s family, the most common way to formalize it is by simply adding the prefix お (o-) or ご (go-), or adding the suffix ~さん(~san). In most cases, adding –san will suffice, but in situations where you need to be super formal (such as talking to a boss or authority figure), you can (and should!) exchange さん with さま (for example, when talking to a friend about their wife, you can say 奥さん（奥さんokusan） but when talking to a boss about his wife, you should probably say 奥様 （おくさまokusama）for added politeness)!

It should also be noted that these rules of extra formality also apply to customers when in a store/business setting in which you are an employee or staff. In Japan, customers are regarded as higher than the staff, so you may notice that store employees always use the politest form of language with them. The same rule applies to strangers and people that you are not familiar.

The best rule of thumb is to always aim for the highest level of politeness when talking about someone’s family in Japanese.

Before I show you the chart below, here are a few notes:

Variations
There are two rows for “my family” because some words have a second, less casual form, similar to how in English, “mother” is the most common/standard form of the word, but you can also say “mom,” “ma,” etc. (Note that not all words have a variation however, hence the blanks).

Higher Formality
As mentioned above, the honorific row shows the standard polite form with the suffix さん (san), but you can exchange that さん for さま (sama) for a higher level of politeness.

Super Casual
Similarly, a word can be made super informal by removing the おand changing さん to ちゃん (chan); this is often done when speaking about family within the same family (for example, talking to your mom about your sister).

Example: お父さん (otousan) can drop the o- and take –chan instead of –san, becoming　父ちゃん (tou-chan), a super casual way of saying father (like saying “daddy” or “pops”).

FAMILY MEMBER NAME	VARIATION/ “MY FAMILY”	CASUAL/ “MY FAMILY”	HONORIFIC/ “YOUR FAMILY”
GENERAL TERMS
Family		家族 かぞく kazoku	ご家族 ごかぞく go-kazoku
Parent(s)	父母 ふぼ fubo	両親 りょうしん ryoushin	ご両親 ごりょうしん go-ryoushin
Sibling(s)		兄弟 きょうだい kyoudai	ご兄弟 ごきょうだいgo-kyoudai
Grandparent(s)		祖父母 そふぼ sofubo	*refer to individually
Grandchild(ren)		孫 まご mago	お孫さん おまごさん o-mago-san
Children		子供 こども kodomo	お子さん おこさん oko-san
Married Couple		夫婦 ふうふ fuufu	ご夫婦 ごふうふ go-fuufu
Fiancé		婚約者 こんやくしゃ kon’yakusha	婚約者さん こんやくしゃさん kon’yakusha-san
Relative(s)		親戚 しんせき shinseki	ご親戚 ごしんせき go-shinseki
~ in law		義理の~ ぎりの~ giri no~	義理の~さん ぎりの~さん giri no~san
SPECIFIC TERMS
Mother	母 はは haha	お母さん おかあさん okaa-san	お母さん おかあさん okaa-san
Father	父 ちち chichi	お父さん おとうさん otou-san	お父さん おとうさん otou-san
Son		息子 むすこ musuko	息子さん むすこさん musuko-san
Daughter		娘 むすめ musume	お嬢さん おじょうさん ojou-san
Sister (older)	姉 あね ane	お姉さん おねえさん onee-san	お姉さん おねえさん onee-san
Sister (younger)		妹 いもうと imouto	妹さん いもうとさん imouto-san
Brother (older)	兄 あに ani	お兄さん おにいさん onii-san	お兄さん おにいさん onii-san
Brother (younger)		弟 おとうと otouto	弟さん おとうとさん otouto-san
Wife	家内 かない kanai	妻 つま tsuma	奥さん おくさん oku-san
Husband	夫 おっと otto	主人 しゅじん shujin	ご主人 ごしゅじん go-shujin
Grandmother	祖母 そぼ sobo	お婆さん おばあさん obaa-san	お婆さん おばあさん obaa-san
Grandfather	祖父 そふ sofu	お爺さん おじいさん ojii-san	お爺さん おじいさん ojii-san
Aunt	伯母 おば oba	伯母さん おばさん oba-san	伯母さん おばさん oba-san
Uncle	伯父 おじ oji	伯父さん おじさん oji-san	伯父さん おじさん oji-san
Cousin		従兄弟 いとこ itoko	従兄弟さん いとこさん itoko-san
Niece		姪 めい mei	姪子さん めいご meigo-san
Nephew		甥 おい oi	甥子さん おいごさん oigo-san

Speaking About Family Members in Japanese

Now that you know how to say each family member’s name, it’s time to learn how to use them properly in a sentence. In English, you could simply say either “MY mother” or “YOUR mother,” however in Japan, remember, it is important to keep in mind WHO you are talking to.

Japanese people do not usually use the word “you” (あなた, anata) in conversation, as it is considered too casual. In most cases, they simply use the other person’s name plus さん at the end.

So if I were talking to Joe about his wife, though in English I could easily say “Your wife” without sounding rude, in Japanese, I would say ジョーさんの奥さん (Joe-san no oku-san), which literally translates to “Joe’s wife.”

In other words, it is common and more polite to refer to someone in third-person, even when talking to them directly.

Example: (When talking to Joe):
ジョーさんの奥さんは優しいです。
Your (Joe’s) wife is kind.

Higher Formality:
ジョーさんの奥さまは優しいです。
Your (Joe’s) wife is kind.

If I were telling Joe about MY wife, I could say 私の妻 (watashi no tsuma, literally “my wife”), however in a casual conversation in which the subject is already known (i.e., Joe knows you are talking about your own family), then I could eliminate the 私 and simply say 妻.

Example:
私の妻は優しいです。
My wife is kind.
妻は優しい。
My wife is kind.
(Super casual, subject is implied but not stated).

In summary, there are many ways to refer to friends or family in Japanese, but the defining rule on which term to choose is ultimately depending on the level of authority of the person you are talking to, and whose family you are talking about.

It can be a little confusing at first when memorizing words with different variations, and which ones are preceded with お or ご for politeness. But when in doubt, always remember the suffix さん and さま, which can be added to any of the terms above – it never hurts to be a little extra polite!

Learn Japanese family member vocabulary faster

A great way to learn Japanese family member vocabulary is through context, or reading short dialogues.

But where can you find them?

LingQ of course.

LingQ has 100s of Japanese lessons including ones that talk about family. Not only that, using LingQ, you can listen to the audio that’s been recorded by native Japanese speakers, look up your words, save them, review them, and more. Below’s a quick snapshot of what one of the lessons looks like on LingQ’s mobile app (iOS and Android).

As you can see, you can listen to the audio, look up words, and read along anytime, anywhere. LingQ lets you learn using content you love as well thanks to it’s unique import feature. This allows you to import content from YouTube, anime, music, and much more. LingQ’s guide to importing can be found here, so check it out.

It’s no secret that Japan is a very family-oriented culture. Japanese strongly value bonding with their blood relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Common Japanese practices like going out for drinks with your boss and co-workers after work or cleaning the school with your classmates foster a similar close-knit family environment between peers. 

Considering the concept of family in Japan is so extensive, it makes sense there would be a similarly vast amount of words to say family in the language. This article will cover the most common ways to say family and each family member in Japanese.  

1. 家族 (Kazoku) – Family; Family Members

The most common way to say family in Japanese is 家族 (kazoku). This word is made up of the 家 (ie) kanji and the 族 (zoku) kanji. In Japanese, 家 (i.e.) means home, and 族 (zoku) means tribe or clan. Chances are you’ll see one or the other in many Japanese words related to family – many of which we will go over in this article! 

When talking about your family, you can use 家族 (kazoku) in sentences with or without a possessive pronoun. To say the possessive pronoun “my” in Japanese, we use the pronoun for I: 私 (watashi) with the possessive particle の (no).

Examples:                                

1. 毎年、私の家族は日本に行く。
(Maitoshi, watashi no kazoku wa Nihon ni iku.) 
My family travels to Japan every year.

毎年、家族は日本に行く。                      
(Maitoshi, kazoku wa Nihon ni iku.)    
My family travels to Japan every year. (without the possessive particle の)      

2. 私の家族は５人です。
(Watashi no kazoku wa gonin desu.)
There are five members in my family.      

家族は５人です。  
(Kazoku wa go nin desu.)    
There are five members in my family. (no possessive particle)

Talking About Someone Else’s Family in Japanese

If you want to use 家族 (kazoku) to talk about someone else’s family, you can use a possessive pronoun or the person’s name. To say the possessive pronouns “his/her” in Japanese, we use the pronouns for he: 彼 (kare) and she: 彼女 (kanojo) with the possessive particle の (no).

Examples:

1. 毎年、彼の家族は日本に行く。     
(Maitoshi, kare no kazoku wa Nihon ni iku.)                   
His family travels to Japan every year.                       

2. リナさんの家族は５人です。
(Rina-san no kazoku wa go nin desu.)
There are five members in Rina’s family.

Talking Directly to Someone About Their Family in Japanese

If you want to use 家族 (kazoku) to talk to someone about their own family, you can use a possessive pronoun, their name, or an honorific, depending on the situation. 

For example, say you’re making small talk with your acquaintance Tanaka-san and want to ask him where his family lives. Your gut reaction may be to use the Japanese pronoun for you: あなた (anata). However, we want to actively avoid using あなた (anata) as much as possible when speaking in Japanese. It can come off a bit too blunt or even be seen as rude, especially when talking with someone you don’t know very well.

To get around this, we can replace あなた (anata) with the person’s name.

Example:

あなたの家族はどこの国にいますか？
(Anata no kazoku wa doko no kuni ni imasu ka?) 
What country does your family reside in?

↓

田中さんの家族はどこの国にいますか？
(Tanaka-san no kazoku wa doko no kuni ni imasu ka?) 
What country does your family reside in, Tanaka?

Another option would be to use the honorific ご (go) in front of 家族 (kazoku). Like the honorific お (o), this is used to sound more polite when referring to another person we are not especially close with. It’s also a great way to avoid directly using あなた (anata) or the other person’s name!

Example:

ご家族はどこの国にいますか？
(Gokazoku wa doko no kuni ni imasu ka?) 
What country does your family reside in?

There are a few other ways we can refer to another person’s family in Japanese, which we will cover more of them in detail later in the article.

2. 家庭 (Katei) – Family; Household

Another common word for family in Japanese is 家庭 (katei). This word has the same 家 (ie) kanji from 家族 (kazoku) and the 庭 (niwa) kanji. 庭 (niwa) is used in many Japanese words relating to areas of land, such as parks and gardens. As you might be able to guess from the kanji combination alone, 家庭 (katei) generally refers to the overall family household whereas 家族 (kazoku) refers more specifically to the family members. 

Let’s take a look at some sentences that better exemplify the difference in connotation between 家庭 (katei) and 家族 (kazoku).

Examples:

1. 家庭で食べる方を好む。                             
(Katei de taberu hо̄ o konomu.)   
I prefer to eat at home.        

2. 家族で食べる方を好む。
(Kazoku de taberu hо̄ o konomu.) 
I prefer to eat with my family.

3. 厳しい家庭で育った。              
(Kibishii katei de sodatta.)              
I was raised in a strict family household.                                         

4. 厳しい家族に育てられた。
(Kibishii kazoku ni sodaterareta.)
I was raised by a strict family.

3. うち (Uchi) – Family; One’s Home/Place

うち (uchi) is a more informal way to say family in Japanese. Although its meaning and usage are similar to 家族 (kazoku) and 家庭 (katei), you will generally want to reserve using this term in casual conversations with people you are close with like friends and relatives. 

Examples:

1. うちは猫を飼っているの。
(Uchi wa neko o katteiru no.)
My family has a pet cat.

2. 今夜、うちに来ない？
(Konya, uchi ni konai?)
Want to come over to my place tonight?

4. Using the 家 (-Ke) Suffix

When the 家 kanji is by itself, it’s read as “ie” – the Japanese word for home. When 家 is combined with other kanji, its reading changes to “ka” to form words like 家族 (kazoku) and 家庭 (katei) as we covered earlier. 家 also appears in many other Japanese words relating to home or family, such as the word for housework: 家事 (kaji), and the word for family lineage: 家系 (kakei). 

When the 家 kanji is used as a suffix, its reading changes to “ke.” We can use the 家 (-ke) suffix to refer to other families by their surname.

 [Family Name] + 家 Suffix = The ______ Family

Examples:

Name	+ 家 (Ke)	Translation
スミス (Sumisu) Smith	+ 家 (ke)	スミス家 (Sumisu-ke) The Smith Family / The Smiths
田中 (Tanaka) Tanaka	+ 家 (ke)	田中家 (Tanaka-ke)  The Tanaka Family / The Tanakas

Let’s look at some example sentences that also use the 家 (-ke) suffix.

Examples:

 1. スミス家が私を食事に招待してくれた。
(Smith-ke ga watashi o shokuji ni shо̄tai shite kureta.)
The Smith Family invited me over for dinner.

 2. スミス家はここに住んでいますか？
(Smith-ke wa koko ni sundeimasu ka?)
Does the Smith Family live here?

3. スミス家と田中家はとても仲が良い。
(Smith-ke to Tanaka-ke wa totemo naka ga ii.)
The Smith Family and Tanaka Family are on very good terms.

5. Using the 族 (-Zoku) Suffix

In Japanese, 族 (zoku) means family, tribe, or clan. We can use the 族 (-zoku) kanji to refer to tribes and races of historical significance or prominent standing.

  [Tribe Name] + 族 Suffix = The ______ Tribe

Examples:

Name	+ 族 (Zoku)	Translation
チェロキー (cherokī) Cherokee	+ 族 (zoku)	チェロキー族 (cherokī-zoku) The Cherokee Tribe
大和 (yamato) Yamato	+ 族 (zoku)	大和族 (Yamato-zoku) The Yamato Race

Family Members in Japanese

Below is a list of basic terms we use to refer to family members in Japanese. Words in the formal columns can refer to members of our family (when talking to them directly) or another person’s family. In contrast, terms in the casual columns are generally reserved for only referring to our family members (when speaking to someone outside of our family).

Speaking to Others About Your Family in Japanese:

Family Memeber	People You Have a Close Relationship With	People with a Higher Social Status Than You
Mother	お母さん (okāsan)	母 (haha)
Father	お父さん (otōsan)	父 (chichi)
Older Sister	お姉さん (onēsan)	姉 (ane)
Younger Sister	妹さん (imōto-san)	妹 (imōto)
Older Brother	お兄さん (onīsan)	兄 (ani)
Younger Brother	弟さん (otōto-san)	弟 (otōto)
Grandmother	お祖母さん (obāsan)	祖母 (sobo)
Great- Grandmother	曾おばあさん (hī obāsan)	曽祖母 (sōsobo)
Grandfather	お祖父さん (ojīsan)	祖父 (sofu)
Great- Grandfather	曾おじいさん (hī ojīsan)	曽祖父 (sōsofu)
Aunt	おばさん (oba-san)	おば (oba)
Uncle	おじさん (oji-san)	おじ (oji)

You may be wondering why respectful words like お母さん (okāsan) or お父さん (otōsan) are used with people you are close with (or when speaking directly to that relative). Shouldn’t respectful and polite words be used with people who are you not close with? Yes! But we also want to speak humbly.

This means that when we speak directly to someone, we want to “honor” them with polite and respectful language. That’s why we use respectful words like お母さん (okāsan) or お父さん (otōsan) when we speak directly to our mother or father. However, when we speak about our family to someone we should respect (your boss, strangers, people older than you, etc.) we need to refer to our family members humbly.

Using words like お母さん (okāsan) or お父さん (otōsan) to talk about your mother and father with your boss would sound childish and even rude. This is like you are saying “my honorable mother and father” and putting them on a pedestal. That’s why when we talk to people we want to show respect to, we use the words 母 (haha) and 父 (chichi) instead.

If you would like to know more about speaking polite and respectful Japanese, check out our guide on keigo: honorific Japanese.

For a closer look at how we refer to our immediate family in Japanese, check out these articles!

Grandparents and Great-Grandparents

Referring to our grandparents in Japanese is quite simple. We add the kanji for Ancestor: 祖 (so) as a prefix to the common words for parents.

Talking About Our Grandparents to Other People

祖 (so) Ancestor	+	母 (haha) Mother	=	祖母 (sobo) Grandmother
祖 (so) Ancestor	+	父 (chichi) Father	=	祖父 (sofu) Grandfather
祖 (so) Ancestor	+	父母 (fubo) Parents	=	祖父母 (sofubo) Grandparents

To refer to our great-grandparents in Japanese, we simply add the kanji for Great: 曽 (sou) as a prefix to these words.

Talking About Our Great-Grandparents To Other People

曽 (sō) Great	+	祖母 (sobo) Grandmother	=	曽祖母 (sōsobo) Great-Grandmother
曽 (sō) Great	+	祖父 (sofu) Grandfather	=	曽祖父 (sōsofu) Great-Grandfather
曽 (sō) Great	+	祖父母 (sofubo) Grandparents	=	曽祖父母 (sōsofubo) Great-Grandparents

As mentioned earlier in the article, we use formal honorifics such as お (o) and さん (-san) when speaking about someone else’s family members.

Examples:

1. 祖母は今年８５歳になった。               
(Sо̄bo wa kotoshi 85-sai ni natta.)    
My grandmother turned 85 this year.      

2. 彼のお祖母さんは今年８５歳になった。
(Kare no Obāsan wa kotoshi 85-sai ni natta.)  
His grandmother turned 85 this year.

3. 曽祖父は日本に移住した。               
(Sōsofu wa Nihon ni ijū shita.)             
My great-grandfather immigrated to Japan.        

4. エイミーの曾おじいさんは日本に移
(Amy no hī Ojīsan wa Nihon ni ijū shita.)
Amy’s great-grandfather immigrated to Japan.

*Note: The more honorifics you use, the more polite you’ll sound in Japanese! While it’s common to talk about our family members in third-person without any formalities, you should use formalities like the さん (-san) honorific when speaking with them directly. This is especially true for older family members like our parents and grandparents, as it’s an important part of Japanese culture to speak with respect when addressing one’s elders. 

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins in Japanese

In Japanese, おばさん (oba-san) means aunt and おじさん (oji-san) means uncle. You can also refer to them in a more informal manner by simply lopping off the さん (-san) honorific, although it isn’t as common. Kanji are occasionally used to differentiate whether the aunt/uncle is older: 伯母 (oba) / 伯父 (oji) or younger 叔母 (oba) / 叔父 (oji) than one’s parent, but most of the time you will want to use these words in regular hiragana. 

The word for cousin in Japanese is いとこ (itoko). Although you will generally see this word in regular hiragana, kanji are occasionally used to differentiate whether the cousin is a female or a male. This is done by adding the kanji for Secondary: 従 (Jū) as a prefix to the common words for sisters and brothers.

従 (jū) Secondary	+	姉妹 (shimai) Sisters	=	従姉妹 (itoko) Female Cousin
従 (jū) Secondary	+	兄弟 (kyōdai) Brothers	=	従兄弟 (itoko) Male Cousin

In-Laws in Japanese

To refer to our in-laws in Japanese, we add the kanji for Honor: 義 (gi) as a prefix to the common words for parents and siblings.

義 (gi) Honor	+	母 (haha) Mother	=	義母 (gibo)** Mother-in-Law
義 (gi) Honor	+	父 (chichi) Father	=	義父 (gifu)** Father-in-Law
義 (gi) Honor	+	姉 (ane) / 妹 (imōto) Older / Younger Sister	=	義姉 (gishi)** / 義妹 (gimai)** Older / Younger Sister-in-Law
義 (gi) Honor	+	兄 (ani) / 弟 (otōto) Older / Younger Brother	=	義兄 (gikei)** / 義弟 (gitei)** Older / Younger Brother-in-Law

**Note: The words using 義 in the chart above (義母 (gibo), 義父 (gifu), 義姉 (gishi), 義兄 (gikei), etc.) are not used for speaking.  They are more formal and are used mainly for writing.  

We can use the above terms to refer to our in-laws in the third person. However, it’s important we use formalities like the お (o) and さん (-san) honorific when speaking with them directly. In Japanese, we commonly call our mother-in-law お義母さん (okā-san) and our father-in-law お義父さん (otō-san) as we do with our own parents.

Speaking to Your Mother-in-Law Directly Example:

お義母さん、今週末一緒に昼食を食べるのはどうですか？
(Okāsan, konshūmatsu issho ni chūshoku o taberu no wa dō desu ka?)
Would you like to have lunch with me this weekend?

Let’s Recap!

If you’re a little overwhelmed by the various ways you can say family in Japanese, that’s okay! Going with the commonly-used 家族 (kazoku) will do the trick in most situations.

Remember to use honorifics when referring to another person’s family or when speaking directly to your own older family members.

How do you say family in your native language? Let us know in the comments below!

Interested in learning more? Take a look at some of our other Japanese language guides here! 

Talking about Family & Relatives in Japanese :Talking about family in English is relatively simple. You have your mom, dad, maybe a brother or sister. Then there’s your aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. However, since Japanese culture holds elders and those more experienced to such high regard, talking about family members is a bit more complicated. Today, we’re going to learn how to talk about family members the Japanese way!   

Talking about Family & Relatives in Japanese

What’s a baby from an English-speaking country’s first word? Most of the time it’s “Mama” since they tend to have a more physical and nurturing relationship with the mother early on. The same goes for Japanese babies. Okā-san (Mom) doesn’t roll off the tongue so easily for infants, so Japanese mothers are happy to be called “Mama” for the early years of their child’s lives. The same goes for fathers. Otō-san is also a bit difficult for infants to say, so they call them “Papa.” However, once the baby gets older, it becomes time to learn the proper Japanese way of talking about their family members.    

Family & Relatives in Japanese – Mothers

As stated above, the word for “mother” in Japanese is okā-san. It takes the kanji for mother (母) and adds an “o” to the beginning to denote respect and tacks a “-san” onto the end like with names.

Okā-san! Watashi no ryukku-sakku wa doko ni oita no?
 (Mom! Where did you put my backpack?)

Okā-san wa donna hito desu ka? 
(What’s your mom like?)  

There’s a catch, though. As with all members of the immediate family, if you are talking to someone else about your mother, you don’t say “okā-san.” In this case, you take the “o” off of the beginning and the “-san” off of the end, and you say “haha.” Yes, that’s right! Haha! That’s how you say “Mom” in Japanese when talking about her to other people!

Haha wa totemo yasahii. Dai-suki desu. 
(My mom is so nice. I love her.) 

So, remember, when talking to someone else about your mom, you refer to her as “haha.” In all other situations, you just say “okā-san.”

BONUS: Some people still call their moms “Mama” well into their twenties, and possibly even beyond that! It all depends on what kind of relationship the child has with their parents.

Family & Relatives in Japanese – Fathers

The word for “father” is otō-san. Like okā-san, it takes the kanji for “father” (父) and attaches an “o” to the beginning and a “-san” to the end to denote respect.

Otō-san! Kyō gakkō ni tsurete ite! 
(Dad! Take me to school today!)

Otō-san wa nani sarete imasu ka? 
(What does your father do for work?)

However, the same rule applies when talking to other people about your father. You take off the “o” and the “-san” and say “chichi.”

Chichi wa sofuto-uea gijutsusha desu. 
(My father is a software engineer.)

So, remember, just like with “Mom,” when talking to other people about your dad, you say “chichi.” In all other cases, you say, “otō-san.”

Family & Relatives in Japanese – Sisters

When it comes to siblings, it gets a bit more challenging. You can’t just say “My sister” in Japanese, you have to specify whether it is your older sister or younger sister.

“Older sister” in Japanese is onē-san (お姉さん). Because she is older than you, she still takes on a form of respect, which is why the “o” and the “-san” are added like with mother and father. It is not customary for people to call their older sister by their birth name. Instead they call them “big sister,” or “onē-san.”  

Onē-san! Wanpīsu wo karite mo ii? 
(Big sister! Can I borrow your dress?)

Onē-san wa doko de benkyō shite imasu ka?
 (Where is your older sister studying?)

When talking to other people about your older sister—like with okā-san and otō-san—you remove the “o” and the “-san” and say, “ane.”

Ane wa Tōkyō Daigaku de benkyō shite imasu. 
(My older sister is studying at Tokyo University.)

As for little sisters, they are called 妹 (imoto). There is no “o” or “-san” attached to their title because they are younger than you and don’t denote the same kind of respect. You also don’t need to call them “Little sister” when talking to them. You can just use their name. 

When talking to other people about your younger sister, she is referred to as imoto.

Imoto kawaii ne! Nan-sai? 
(Your little sister is so cute! How old is she?)

Imoto wa san-sai desu. 
(My little sister is three years old.)

Remember: as with “mother” and “father,” when talking to other people about your older sister, you say “ane.” In all other cases, she is called “onē-san.” And with younger sisters, they are called imoto. If you are talking to your younger sister, you can just call her by her name.

Family & Relatives in Japanese – Brothers

Brothers follow the same rules as sisters. The older brother is called お兄さん (onī-san), but when you are talking to other people about him, you refer to him as “ani.”

Younger brother is 弟 (otōto), and you can call him by his name unless you are talking about him to other people.

Japan is unique in their family structure and respect for those more senior in age and experience. That’s what makes learning the family dynamics so interesting and insightful when it comes to understanding the culture. Below, we have compiled a list of family member titles to aid in your Japanese study. 

Don’t just memorize them, though! Get out there and practice them until you get the hang of it! Talk to Japanese speakers about your family members and ask about theirs! Always remember to practice, practice, practice!   

Japanese	Romaji	When talking about them to other people	Romaji	English
お母さん	okā-san	母	haha	Mother
お父さん	otō-san	父	chichi	Father
お姉さん	onē-san	姉	ane	Older Sister
妹	imoto	妹	imoto	Younger Sister
お兄さん	onī-san	兄	ani	Older Brother
弟	otōto	弟	otōto	Younger Brother
叔母(伯母)さん	oba-san	叔母(伯母)さん	oba-san	Aunt
叔父(伯父)さん	oji-san	叔父(伯父)さん	oji-san	Uncle
姪	mei	姪	mei	Niece
甥	oi	甥	oi	Nephew
娘	musume	娘	musume	Daughter
息子	musuko	息子	musuko	Son
お祖母(婆)さん	obā-san	お祖母(婆)さん	obā-san	Grandmother
お祖父(爺)さん	ojī-san	お祖父(爺)さん	ojī-san	Grandfather
孫	mago	孫	mago	Grandchild
いとこ	itoko	いとこ	itoko	cousin

Family in Japanese is “家族（かぞく）”. There is a similar word called “家庭（かてい）”, but this means household.

Japanese Words on Family & Relatives in Japanese

“I want to spend time with my family on Christmas.” → 「クリスマスは家族（かぞく）で過（す）ごしたい。」　

“Many households have a vacuum in their house.” → 「多（おお）くの家庭（かてい）は家（いえ）に掃除機（そうじき）がある。」

Here is a list of words for all the family members.

English	Japanese
Father	父親（ちちおや）、お父（とう）さん、父（ちち）、パパ
Mother	母親（ははおや）、お母（かあ）さん、母（はは）、ママ
Little sister	妹（いもうと）
Big sister	姉（あね）、お姉（ねえ）ちゃん、お姉（ねえ）さん
Little brother	弟（おとうと）
Big brother	兄（あに）、お兄（にい）ちゃん、お兄（にい）さん
Son	息子（むすこ）
Daughter	娘（むすめ）
Children	子（こ）ども、子
Grandmother	おばあちゃん、おばあさん、祖母（そぼ）
Grandfather	おじいちゃん、おじいさん、祖父（そふ）
Cousin	いとこ
Uncle	おじ、おじさん
Aunt	おば、おばさん
Niece	めい
Nephew	おい

These are the words for each family members. Note that we have different words for little brother/sister and big brother/sister.

“おばさん”, “おじさん”, “おばあさん”, “おじいさん” are used to express how old someone is. “おばさん”, “おじさん” can mean someone in the middle age and “おばあさん”, “おじいさん” can mean someone in the old age.

“That old lady is sleeping in the train.” → 「あのおばあさん電車で寝てるよ。」

 “I feel like I’m becoming a middle aged man. My back really hurts these days. 「もうおじさんになったなー。腰が最近本当に痛い。」

We have a word to insult someone old in Japanese. It is “ばばあ” and “じじい”. “ばばあ” is for women and it comes from the word “おばさん” or “おばあちゃん”. “じじい” is for men and it comes from the word “おじさん” or “おじいちゃん”.

“That old lady tried to punch me!” → 「あのばばあが俺（おれ）のことを殴（なぐ）ろうとした！」 

For “子ども” we also use it to express how young or childish someone is. A more insulting way of saying expressing that someone is young or childish is “ガキ”

“His way of thinking is childish” → 「彼（かれ）の考（かんが）え方（かた）が子どもだ。」

“That kid stole things from my house.” → あのガキが俺（おれ）の家（いえ）のものを盗（ぬす）んで行（い）った。

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Knowing how to talk about your family in Japanese can open up your conversation skills! When talking with strangers and friends, family can be a great topic.  The only problem is that talking about family can be difficult to grasp in Japanese!

In this article, I’ll be going over all of the different ways to talk about family and useful phrases.

Talking about your own family vs. Talking about someone else’s family

Before we get into anything specific, it’s important to understand the differences between talking about your own family and talking about someone else’s family! In Japanese, you must use different vocabulary and ways of speech for these two situations. 

When talking about your own family you must refer to your family members with no honorifics and in an “impolite form”. This is because they are your own family.

If you’re talking about someone else’s family, you must use a more polite form. Even if you know the other person’s family well, you must refer to them with some kind of honorifics or polite speech.

Finally, it’s important to know how to talk to your family in Japanese. When you are talking to your family, you have many choices. You can call them by their name or with other family words depending on your relationship. 

All of these can be confusing, so let’s take some examples:

When talking about your own mother, you can use the word 母はは(haha). Notice how the word doesn’t include any extra honorifics. 

母ははは元気げんきです。
Haha wa genki desu.
My mother is doing well.

Now let’s look at how you’d ask about someone else’s mother. Depending on how close you are to the other person, you can use お母かあさん(okaasan) or お母様 かあさま (okaasama). The honorifics さん/様さま adds additional levels of politeness.

お母様かあさまはお元気げんきですか？
Okaasama wa ogenki desuka?
How is your mother?

At this point you might be wondering how to call your own mother. You actually have lots of choices ranging from formal to super casual. This simply depends on how you grew up and what you become accustomed to saying.

How to say “Family” and “Relatives” in Japanese

Let’s go over how to say the words for “family” and “relative” in Japanese. This can be useful to ask general questions about how someone’s family is doing. In addition, you can use this to describe your own family.

Here are the two ways to say “family:

家族かぞく – kazoku (informal/general) 

This is the basic word for family.  There is no politeness attached to kazoku so it is best when talking about your own family or your friend’s family. It’s also possible to use this when talking about “family” as a general concept.

ご家族ごかぞく– gokazoku (polite)

You should use this word when you’re talking about someone else’s family in a polite way. If you’re very good friends with the other person, you might be able to use kazoku instead.  

There are also two ways to say “relatives”:

In this case, there are no real differences between the two words. However, shinseki might be more common than shinrui.

親戚しんせき – shinseki

親類しんるい – shinrui

Members of the Family in Japanese

Here is the vocabulary for members of the family! As I mentioned earlier, there are different words you need depending on if you’re talking about your own family vs. talking about someone else’s family. Some of these words can also be used for multiple situations. 

To make things easier, I’ll mark each word with letters that will represent the situation!

P = Polite (Use with strangers, acquaintances, older people, people you need to respect)

C = Casual (Use with friends, and those who are younger than you)

O = Talking about your own family to someone else

S = Talking about someone else’s family

T = Talking to your family member directly

Parents: 

親おや – oya (O)
This can mean one parent or both parents.

両親りょうしん – ryoushin (O)
With this word, it is always about both parents.

ご両親りょうしん – goryoushin (S)

Mother:

There are many words for mothers, especially for how people call their own moms. I won’t go into all of them here, but try observing how other people call their mom.

母はは – haha (O)

母親ははおや – haha oya (O)

お母かあさん – okaasan (C, S, T)

お母様かあさま – okaasama  (P, S, T)

おふくろ – ofukuro (O,T)

This word for mom, is usually only used by men.

ママ – mama (T)

Father:

Just like “mother”, there are lots of words that people use to call their own father. I only put the general words here.

父ちち – chichi (O)

父親ちちおや – chichi oya (O)

お父とうさん – otousan (C,S,T)

お父様とうさま – otousama (P,S,T)

パパ – papa (T)

Siblings:

For these two words, you don’t have to worry too much about politeness or situation. They can be used to talk about yourself and to talk about others.

兄弟きょうだい kyoudai (female and male siblings, or only male siblings)

姉妹しまい shimai (All female siblings)

In most cases, it’s better to use kyoudai instead of shimai. This is because Kyoudai means “siblings” in general, whereas shimai only refers to female siblings. 

Older sister

姉あね – ane (O)

お姉ねえさん – oneesan (S, C)

Note that this word can also be used to refer to people who are not your relative. When used in this context, it just means a woman who’s a bit older than you. An example would be if a child is being babysat by a teenager, they might call them oneesan. 

お姉様ねえさま – oneesama (S, P)

お姉ねえちゃん – oneechan (T)

Younger sister

妹いもうと – imouto (O)

妹いもうとさん – imouto san (S,C/P)

Since a younger sister implies they are younger, they are usually referred to in a more casual way.

Older brother

兄あに – ani (O)

お兄にいさん – oniisan (S,C)

Like oneesan, oniisan can also be used as a word to describe someone who’s slightly older than you. It’s not always only for relatives.

お兄様にいさま – oniisama (S,P)

お兄にいちゃん – oniichan (T)

Younger brother:

弟おとうと – otouto (O)

弟おとうとさん – otoutosan (S,P/C)

Husband: 

夫おっと – otto (O)

旦那だんなさん – danna san (S,C)

旦那様だんなさま – danna sama (S,P)

主人しゅじん – shujin – (O)

This one shows more respect for your husband than 夫.

亭主ていしゅ – teishu (S,O)

Teishu is used when the husband is “good for nothing” or doesn’t deserve as much respect. If you’re talking about someone else’s husband, it would be best use it while the wife is not around as it could be rude.

Wife:

妻つま – tsuma (O)

家内 かない– kanai (O)

Unlike tsuma, kanai implies that you feel very close to your wife. 

奥おくさん – okusan (S,C)

奥様おくさま – okusama (S, P)

Children:　

子供こども – kodomo 

This is the basic word for “child” in Japanese. This means that anyone can use this word in a general context. When referring to someone else’s child, you should use the other polite words.

お子こさん – okosan (S,C)

お子様こさま – okosama (S,P)

Son:

息子むすこ – musuko (O) 

息子むすこさん – musuko san (S,C/P)

Daughter:

娘 むすめ– musume (O)

娘むすめさん – musumesan (S, C/P)

Extended Family in Japanese:

Since there are so many family words, I decided to split the vocabulary into another section for extended family. 

These will also follow the same organizing format (if you need to refresh what this means read the previous section!):

P = Polite (Use with strangers, acquaintances, older people, people you need to respect)

C = Casual (Use with friends, and those who are younger than you)

O = Talking about your own family to someone else

S = Talking about someone else’s family

T = Talking to your family member directly

Grandparents: 

祖父母そふぼ – sofubo (O)

Saying “grandparents” referring to someone else’s family:

If you’d like to say grandparent referring to someone else’s family, you should say “grandmother and grandfather”. There isn’t really one word people use to indicate grandparents, when talking about someone else’s family.

Grandfather:

祖父 そふ– sofu (O)

おじいさん – ojiisan  (S, C)

おじいさま – ojiisama (S, P)

おじいちゃん – ojiichan (T)

Grandmother:

祖母そぼ – sobo (O)

おばあさん – obaasan (S, C)

おばあさま – obaasama (S, P)

おばあちゃん – obaachan (T)

Cousin:

For cousins, there’s basically just one word. Depending on the gender, there are some different ways to write the word in kanji. However, this is not extremely important and I recommend sticking to the hiragana!

いとこ – itoko 

Niece:

姪めい – mei (O)

姪御めいごさん – meigo san (S,C/P)　

Nephew:

甥おい – oi (O)

甥御おいごさん – oigo san (S, C/P)

Uncle:

叔父おじ – oji (O)

おじさん – oji san (S, T, C)

叔父様おじさま – oji sama (S, P)

おじちゃん – ojichan (T)

Aunt:

叔母おば – oba (O)

おばさん – obasan (S, T, C)

叔母おばさま – obasama (S,P)

おばちゃん – obachan (T)

Grandchild:

孫 まご– mago (O)

お孫まごさん – omago san (S, P/C)

In laws:

For describing your in-laws, you would use this phrase. Simply put the family word in the blank.

義理ぎりの_____- giri no _____

For example, mother in-law would be:

義理ぎりのお母かあさん – giri no okaasan

Phrases for Describing your Family:

Formality:

As explained before, knowing how to use the level of formality is important! Make sure that you always talk about your own family member in a way that uses no honorifics. 

Using particle は(wa):

The particle は(wa) is useful when describing your family. All you have to do is to put the family member + は(wa) + description to form a phrase.  は(wa) acts as an “is” in English.

For example, you can say, “my younger sister is a university student”.

妹いもうとは大学生だいがくせいです。
Imouto wa daigakusei desu.
My younger sister is a university student.

Useful Phrases:

Here are some other phrases for describing your family.

_____がいます。- I have a _____

This is useful if you want to say you have a particular family member. For example
“I have a younger brother” would be 弟おとうとがいます (otouto ga imasu).

一人ひとりっ子こです – hitorikko desu – I’m an only child

If you’re an only child, you could say this phrase to describe yourself.

_____人家族にんかぞくです。- _____nin kazoku desu. – I have _____ people in my family

To show the size of your family, you could put a number in the blank. This would usually only apply to the number of immediate family members you have.

Asking about someone’s family:

Formality: 

When asking about someone else’s family, make sure to be as polite as possible. If you’re really close friends or much older than the other person, you might be able to get away with using more informal language. However, as a general practice you’ll want to be more formal than if you’re talking about your own family. 

Useful Questions:

Here are some questions you can ask someone about their family. When the phrase has a blank, you can add the type of family member.

ご家族かぞくはお元気げんきですか？- Gokazoku wa ogenki desuka – How is your family?

_____は何なにをなさっているんですか？- _____ wa nani o nasatte irundesuka? – What is your _____’s occupation?

_____はおいくつですか？- _____wa oikutsu desuka? – How old is your _____?

兄弟きょうだいはいますか？- Kyoudai wa imasuka? – Do you have siblings?

I hope that this article will help you with learning the vocabulary and phrases for talking about family in Japanese! As you can see, there are lots of different ways to say the word for the family member. Knowing how to navigate this will take some time, and I encourage you  to listen to the way that native speakers use the vocabulary. If you’re interested in other Japanese language learning blog content, be sure to check out How to tell the time in Japanese or Japanese Numbers: Count from 1-100 and beyond

~ Tanuki

On the hunt for the right Japanese vocabulary for family or かぞく(pronounced as kazoku)? In today’s post, we will walk you through the exact translations of the Japanese words in terms of family relationships and what you can use to describe someone else’s family.

After all, the concept of “family” is crucial in Japanese culture as it is believed to be the bedrock of someone’s reputation. If you are truly interested in connecting better and understanding their values, learning the Japanese language starting with these family words will make the whole language journey much easier. If you are up for that, then the learning begin!

As language is a social tool it’s an indispensable part of social life, so while learning Japanese you also learn about the bits of Japanese culture. If you want to learn more about Japanese society, you should first look at family.

As we have been taught in school, the family is considered the smallest unit of society. Yet, it plays an extremely important role in our development and greatly affects our perceptions, beliefs, and traditions. For this reason, it is totally normal for us to see that kids grow up and somehow acquire their parents’ taste may it be in politics, beliefs, behavior, and even their way of life. In some countries, the transfer of ideas and beliefs goes beyond a generation. For instance, family members in Japan actually have a detailed account of their ancestry, which is why many of the locals truly know about how their clans started.

How Important Is Family In Japanese Culture?

Before anything else, I want to share with you how Mr. Takahiro Miyao, a professor at the University of Southern California, defines the family structure in Japan:

“The family system in Japan can be regarded as a formal and social institution rather than a personal and emotional relationship.”

After the devastating tsunami earthquake in Japan in 2011, a foreign news reporter visited the emergency center where many elder survivors got together to live through hardships. The reporter asked,

“Why don’t you go to your son’s or daughter’s place at least temporarily, rather than staying here in this severe environment?” the older Japanese person replied,

“Well, I do have a son and a daughter, but they have their own lives, so I don’t want to disturb them. I rather stay here with people who know each other well.”

You may think Japanese people have strong family relationships, but they are more strongly loyal to their own communities, such as villages, companies, etc. So their group loyalty is more dominant than their family relationship.

Family sometimes functions like a company in Japan, the mother has her own responsibilities, the father has his own responsibilities, and the children have their own. So there is not much interaction and affection between them.

I remember a Japanese friend of mine saying, “I haven’t hugged my mom and dad since I was 10 years old.” I was really surprised. All these incidents are great clues that can answer your questions about the typical Japanese family.

Traditional Family Type In Japan

The traditional Japanese family is described as the 家 (Ie) or a family system, which literally means household. 家 (Ie) refers to a home and family’s lineage.

Each family member is expected to serve their family to get a good reputation for the family name or grow the family business if they have one. The traditional Japanese family is patriarchal and the husband is the family’s main income source.

A traditional Japanese household usually consists of grandparents, their son, his wife, and their children. The eldest son is expected to inherit the household assets and is responsible for caring for his parents when they get old.

Modern Family Type In Japan

On the other hand, in the modern Japanese family, the influence of the traditional family system isn’t as strong as it used to be. 核家族 (kaku kazoku), the nuclear family is more common and it consists of two parents and their children (usually one or two children); they don’t live with grandparents anymore but they are still respected and visited often.

However, nowadays married Japanese couples prefer to adopt pets rather than have children. So families with children are becoming less common in Japan.

Japanese Vocabulary For Family Members

In the table below, you will find all the Japanese family vocabulary that can be used when speaking about your family. There are two types of Japanese words that we are going to present here as the terms can be interchanged depending on who you are speaking with. For instance, you must use the formal version when you are around older people and in a much higher authority than you.

Family Terms	Japanese	Romaji	Japanese (formal)	Romaji
Father	お父さん	otousan	ちち	chichi
Grandmother	おばあさん	obasan	祖母	sobo
Grandfather	おじいさん	ojiisan	祖父	sofu
Wife	奥さん	okusan	家内	kanai
Husband	旦那	danna	夫	otto
Mother	お母さん	okasan	はは	haha
Older brother	お兄さん	oniisan	兄	ani
Younger brother	弟	otouto	弟	otouto
Older sister	お姉さん	oneesan	姉	ane
Younger sister	妹	imouto	妹	imouto
Aunt	伯母	oba	叔母	oba
Uncle	伯父	oji	叔父	oji
Child	子供	kodomo	子供	kodomo
Sibling	兄弟	kyōdai	きょうだい	kyōdai
Parents	両親	ryōshin	りょうしん	otōto

Addressing Someone Else’s Family In Japanese

There is a different way of addressing or talking about family members of another person’s family. Here is a list of Japanese vocabulary to use when addressing someone else’s family members. As you can see, most of these words end with the honorific suffix さん (-san) to emphasize respect.

Children – お子さん – おこさん (okosan)

Other Useful Japanese Family Words

As we have stated before, you must use other family terms when speaking about another person’s family. Below are the best words in Japanese that you can use today.

Family Terms	Japanese	Romaji
Child	子供	kodomo
Cousin	従兄	itoko
Cousin	いとこ	itoko
Dad	パパ	papa
Daughter	娘	musema
Grandfather	おじいさん	ojisan
Grandmother	おばあさん	obaasan
Grandpa	ジジ	jiji
Granny	ババ	baba
Husband	ご主人	goshujin
Mom	ママ	mama
Parent	両親	ryoushin
Relatives	親戚	shinseki
Sibling	兄弟	kyoudai
Son	息子	musuko
Wife	ご主人	okusan

How To Address Your In-laws In Japanese?

Although, the word “in-law” is いんせき (inseki) in Japanese. When it comes to addressing your in-laws, you should add 義理 の (ぎ り の-giri no) before their relation in the family.

• Father-in-Law – 義理の父 – ぎりのちち (giri no chichi)
• Mother-in-Law – 義理の母 – ぎりのはは (giri no haha)
• Brother-in-Law (Older) – 義理の兄 – ぎりのあに (giri no ani)
• Brother-in-Law (Younger) – 義理の弟 – ぎりのおとうと (giri no otōto)
• Sister-in-Law (Older) – ぎりのあね (giri no ane)
• Sister-in-Law (Younger) – 義理の妹 – ぎりのいもうと (giri no imōto)
• Son-in-Law – 義理の息子 – ぎりのむすこ (giri no musuko)
• Daughter-in-Law – 義理の娘 – ぎりのむすめ (giri no musume)

How To Talk About Your Family In Japanese?

Family words in Japanese look a bit confusing at first but I’m sure you will master them after a few repetitions. Also, you need to see these newly learned Japanese words in context so here are your example sentences related to the family topic.

Example 1:

Q: 何人家族ですか。(Nan-nin kazoku desu ka.)

How many family members do you have?

A: お父さん、お母さん、私の三人家族です。(O-tō-san, o-kā-san, watashi no san-nin kazoku desu.)

I have three family members: father, mother, and me.

Example 2:

Q: 兄弟はいますか。(Kyōdai wa imasu ka.)

Do you have brothers and sisters?

A: 私は弟がいます。(Watashi wa otōto ga imasu.)

I have a younger brother.

Example 3:

Q: ご両親はお元気ですか。(Go-ryōshin wa o-genki desu ka.)

How are your parents?

A: 私の父と母は元気です。(Watashi no chichi to haha wa genki desu.)

My father and mother are doing well.

Wrapping Up

As we reach this part of the post, we hope that you were able to learn all the right words to use when speaking about kazoku (family) in the Japanese language. Which of the following words today are you most interested in using in real life? Let us know in the comment section down below. If you think we have missed something or have questions related to this topic, feel free to send it all in through the comment section, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

If you enjoyed this post and would love to be updated about the other language tips related to this Asian language, be sure to check out our previous posts like how to say the colors like a native speaker, the slang words used by the locals, and how to say thank you.

Now if you believe that you want to progress more in the Japanese language and master the katakana, hiragana, and kanji, then there’s one absolutely free language resource that we can recommend, and that is the Ling App by Simya Solutions. Read on below to find out more about this epic tool!

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