Striking round red wooden statues of faces in Japan

Study Resource: Japanese kinship terms

By: Mayumi Ito
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Japanese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Table of Japanese kinship terms

Remember that the terms you use to refer to family members can depend on two factors:

  • Whose family member are you referring to: yours or someone else's?

  • Who are you talking to: another member of your family, or someone outside the family?

Here are the most common terms you'll need:

English
Japanese
Words for...
Your own family members
Someone else's family members
Talking to someone...
inside your family
outside your family

Grandparents

n/a

祖父母[sofubo]
ご祖父母さま[gosofubo sama]

Grandfather

(お)じいちゃん[ojiichan]
祖父[sofu]
おじいさん[ojiisan]おじいさま[ojiisama]

Grandmother

(お)ばあちゃん[obāchan]
祖母[sobo]
おばあさん[obāsan]おばあさま[obāsama]

Parent(s)

n/a

親[oya]両親[ryōshin]父母[fubo]
ご両親[goryōshin]ご両親さま[goryōshinsama]

Father

(お)父さん[otōsan](お)父さんちゃん[otōchan]親父[oyaji]
父[chichi]
お父さん[otōsan]お父さま [otōsama]

Mother

(お)母さん[okāsan](お)母ちゃん[okāchan]お袋[ofukuro]
母[haha]
お母さん[okāsan]お母さま[okāsama]

Spouse

n/a

配偶者[haigūsha]

n/a

Married Couple

n/a

夫婦[fūfu]
ご夫婦[gofūfu]ご夫妻[gofusai]

Husband

お父さん[otōsan]パパ[papa]

first name + さん[san]

あなた[anata]
夫[otto]主人[shujin]亭主[ teishu]旦那 [dan'na]

last name

ご主人さま[goshujin sama]旦那さん[dan'na san]旦那さま[dan'na sama]

Wife

お母さん[okāsan]ママ[mama]

first name

妻[tsuma]家内[kanai]女房[nyōbo]嫁さん[yome san]
奥さん[okusan]奥さま[okusama]

Child / children

あなたたち[anatatachi]
used by a mother
おまえたち[omaetachi]
used by a father
子供[kodomo]
お子さん[okosan]お子さま[okosama]

Son

n/a

息子[musuko]せがれ[segare]
息子さん[ musuko san]お坊ちゃん[obocchan]ご子息[goshisoku]

First-born son

お兄ちゃん[oniichan]

first name

長男[chōnan]
ご長男[gochōnan]

Second-born son

first name

次男[jinan]
ご次男[gojinan]

Daughter

n/a

娘[musume]
娘さん[musume san]お嬢さん [ojōsan]お嬢さま[ojōsama]

First-born daughter

お姉ちゃん[onēchan]

first name (+ちゃん[chan])

長女[chōjo]
ご長女[gochōjo]

Second-born daughter

first name (+ちゃん[chan])

次女[jijo]

Grandchild(ren)

first name (+ちゃん[chan])

first name (+君[kun])

孫[mago]
お孫さん[omago san]

Brothers

Siblings (mixed gender)

n/a

兄弟[kyōdai]
ご兄弟[gokyōdai]

Sisters

n/a

姉妹[shimai]
ご姉妹[goshimai]

Older brother

(お)兄ちゃん[oniichan](お)兄さん[oniisan]兄貴[aniki]
兄[ani]
お兄さん[oniisan]お兄さま[oniisama]

Older sister

(お)姉ちゃん[onēchan](お)姉さん[onēsan]姉貴[aneki]
姉[ane]
お姉さん[onēsan]お姉さま[onēsama]

Younger brother

first name

弟[otōto]
弟さん[otōto san]

Younger sister

first name

妹[imōto]
妹さん[imōto san]

Uncle

おじちゃん[ojichan]おじさん[ojisan]おじさま[ojisama]
おじ[oji]
A parent's older brother is
spelled 伯父, and their younger
brother is spelled 叔父.
おじさん[ojisan]おじさま[ojisama]

Aunt

おばちゃん[obachan]おばさん[obasan]おばさま[obasama]
おば[oba]
A parent's older sister is
spelled 伯母, and their
younger sister is spelled 叔母.
おばさん[ obasan]おばさま[obasama]

Nephew

first name (+ちゃん[chan])

first name (+君[kun])

甥[oi]甥っ子[oikko]
甥御さん[oigo san]

Niece

first name (+ちゃん[chan])

姪[mei]姪っ子[meikko]
姪御さん[meigo san]

Cousin

first name (+ちゃん[chan])

first name (+君[kun])

いとこ[itoko]
いとこさん[itoko san]

Relatives

n/a

親戚[shinseki]親類[shinrui]
ご親戚[goshinseki]

Step parents

n/a

養父母[yōfubo]
ご両親[goryōshin]ご両親さま[goryōshinsama]

Stepfather

お父さん[otōsan]
養父[yōfu]
お父さん[otōsan]お父さま[otōsama]

Stepmother

お母さん[okāsan]
養母[yōbo]
お母さん[okāsan]お母さま[okāsama]

Father-in-law

お義父さん[otōsan]お義父さま[otōsama]
義父[gifu]舅[shūto]
お舅さん[oshūto san]

Mother-in-law

お義母さん[okāsan]お義母さま[okāsama]
義母[gibo]姑[shūtome]
お姑さん[oshūtome san]

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