Family
Family terms are different for one’s family and someone’s family. One’s family is
The traditional Japanese house structure,
The wife joins her husband’s
Nowadays, some are veering from this. Some have their ashes scattered and others have a grave plot, but these are hard to get.
家族
There are many important people in your family tree
Great-grandparents | | そうそふぼ |
Great-grandfather | | そうそふ・ひ(い)じじ・ひおおじ |
Great-grandmother | | そうそぼ・ひ(い)ばば・ひおおば |
Great-grandchild(ren) | | そうそん・ひ(い)まご・ひこ (Rare) |
Grandparents | | そふぼ |
Grandfather | | そふ・おじ (Rare)・じじ(Dialect)・じい (~Old man)・おおじ (Rare) |
Grandmother | | そぼ・ばば (Dialect/rude)・おおば (Rare) |
Grandchild(ren) | | まご |
Granduncle | | おおおじ |
Grandaunt | | おおおば |
Parents | | りょうしん |
Father | | ちち(おや) |
Mother | | はは(おや) |
Dad | パパ、おやじ | パパ、おやじ |
Mom | ママ、お | ママ、おふくろ |
Uncle | 叔・ | おじ |
Aunt | 叔・ | おば |
Husband | | おっと、だんな |
Wife | | つま、にょうぼう、かない |
Son | | むすこ |
Daughter | | むすめ |
Older Brother | | あに(き) |
Younger Brother | | おとうと |
Older Sister | | あね(き) |
Younger Sister | | いもうと |
Word Notes:
1.
2. For writing aunt and uncle, 叔 is used when they’re younger and
3.
4. ~
5. As you will learn, you will often or usually call family members with the titles originally for someone else’s family. Some here include one’s mother, father, grandfather, and grandmother.
Examples
1.
I have three siblings.
2.
Mother Earth
3.
My older sister resembles my mom.
ご家族
The main difference between the words for one’s family with that of another is that someone’s family is addressed with more honorific terms. The list below illustrates these terms with the same rules of age applying for aunt and uncle as before.
Great-grandfather | 曾お | ひおじいさん |
Great-grandmother | 曾お | ひおばあさん |
Great-grandchild(ren) | | ひまごさん |
Grandfather | お | おじいさん |
Grandmother | お | おばあさん |
Grandchild(ren) | お | おまごさん |
Granduncle | | おおおじさん |
Grandaunt | | おおおばさん |
Parents | ご | ごりょうしん |
Father | お | おとうさん |
Mother | お | おかあさん |
Uncle | 叔・ | おじさん |
Aunt | 叔・ | おばさん |
Husband | ご | ごしゅじん、だんなさん |
Wife | | おくさん |
Child | お | おこさん |
Son | | むすこさん |
Daughter | | むすめさん、おじょうさん |
Older Brother | お | おにいさん |
Younger Brother | | おとうとさん |
Older Sister | お | おねえさん |
Younger Sister | | いもうとさん |
Siblings | ご | ごきょうだい |
4.
She takes after her sister in appearance, but their characters differ.
5.
お
セス:ええ、あります。
お
セス:ええ。
お
セス:ええ、
お
セス:ええ、よく
お
セス:いいえ、
お
~に
Neutral Family Terms
Despite there being a great divide in family terminology, there are still many terms that are neutral and may be used for both one’s own family and someone’s family. Below is a list of the most common of these neutral terms.
Nephew | | おい |
Niece | | めい |
Cousin | いとこ | いとこ |
Second cousin | はとこ・またいとこ・いとこの | はとこ・またいとこ・いとこのこ |
Father and Mother | | ふぼ |
Sisters | | しまい |
Brothers/Siblings | | きょうだい |
Younger Siblings | | ていまい |
Brother-in-law | | ぎきょうだい |
Brother-in-law | | ぎてい |
Older sister-in-law | | ぎし |
Younger sister-in-law | | ぎまい |
Son-in-law | | むすめのおっと、(むすめ)むこ、じょせい |
Daughter-in-law | | むすこのつま、よめ、ぎりのむすめ |
Father-in-law | | ぎりのちち、ぎふ、しゅうと |
Mother-in-law | | ぎりのはは、ぎぼ、しゅうと |
Relatives | | しんぞく、みより |
Ancestors | | そせん、せんぞ |
Family members in this group can still be made polite in reference to someone else. For example, the nephew and niece of another person can be referred to as
Ancestor
After Grandchildren
It’s interesting to know that Japanese has words for those who have not just great-grandchildren, but offspring for 8 generations ahead of you (just in case you live that long). The terms up to great-great-grandchildren are usually known by most speakers. The others are just fun to look at.
Child | | こ |
Grandchild | | まご |
Great-grandchild | ひ | ひまご |
Great-great-grandchild | | やしゃご |
Great-great-great-grandchild | | らいそん |
Great-great-great-great-grandchild | | こんそん |
Great-great-great-great-great-grandchild | 仍孫 | じょうそん |
Great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchild | | うんそん |
How to Write いとこ
The word for cousin, いとこ, is a very odd word to write in Japanese. It is written differently depending on the age and gender relationship with the speaker.
Older Girls/Younger Guys | | Older Guys/Younger Girls | |
Older Girls | | Older Guys | |
Younger Girls | | Younger Guys | |
Guys | | Girls | |
Word Note: You may also use the
Using Terms for Someone Else’s Family for Your Own
Many speakers will call their mom, dad, older brother or sister, and grandparents with the terms that are supposed to be for someone’s family. But, if you use them for you own, you may slightly change their appearance. For example, instead of -さん you might choose -ちゃん or drop -さん altogether. It’s also even possible to drop the お- at the beginning of these phrases.
6. お
Mom, I want a toy!
7. お
Dad, you really talk too much.
8.
Hey sis’, what are you doin’?
Stepfamily
Sino-Japanese | Native | |
Stepmother | | |
Stepfather | | |
Stepchild | | |
Stepson | | |
Stepdaughter | |
Half Family
To create the terms for half-brother and half-sister, you first must decide whether they are from a stepfather or a stepmother. For each combination, there is a technical, conversational, and insensitive term available.
The technical terms utilize Sino-Japanese vocabulary. The conversational terms are the native vocabulary equivalents of the Sino-Japanese terms. The insensitive terms utilize the terms
Meaning | Technical Term | Conversational Term | Insensitive Term |
By a different father | | | |
Siblings | | | |
Sisters | | | |
Older brother | | | |
Older sister | | | |
Younger brother | | | |
Younger sister | | | |
By a different mother | | | |
Siblings | | | |
Sisters | | | |
Older brother | | | |
Older sister | | | |
Younger brother | | | |
Younger sister | | | |