Japanese Family Members: Understanding Kazoku

Are you curious to know how to say the name of each family member in Japanese? In this article you will increase your vocabulary and satisfy that curiosity by learning about Kazoku [家族] in Japanese.

It is worth remembering that in Japanese, there is a difference in saying about your family member or someone else's family member. There are also suffixes that can be used according to the formality of the conversation.

Kazoku – family members in Japanese

Your family members in Japanese

Before we quote family members in Japanese, you need to understand a little about the pronunciation and the way we use these Japanese words. For that, we leave a video below that will explain everything about it:

Kanji Kana Rōmaji Meaning
家族 かぞく kazoku The members of the family / Family
祖父 そふ sofu Grandmother
祖母 そぼ sobo Grandmother
伯父 おじ oji Uncle (Older than father)
叔父 おじ oji Uncle (Younger than Father)
伯母 おば oba Aunt (Older than father)
叔母 おば oba Aunt (younger than father)
両親 りょうしん ryoushin Country
ちち chichi Father
はは haha Mother
兄弟 きょうだい Kyoudai Brothers Sisters
姉妹 しまい shimai sisters
あに ani Older Brother
あね ane Older sister
おとうと Otouto Younger Brother
いもうと imouto Younger Sister
夫婦 ふうふ Fuufu Married / Couple / Husband and Wife
主人 しゅじん shujin Husband
おっと otto Husband
家内 かない Kanai Wife
つま tsuma Wife
従兄弟 いとこ Itoko Cousin (male)
従姉妹 いとこ Itoko cousin (female)
子供 こども kodomo Children
息子 むすこ Musuko Son
むすめ musume Daughter
おい oi Nephew
めい mei Niece
まご mago Grandchild
義理の兄 ぎりのあに giri no ani Brother-in-law (older than you)
義理の弟 ぎりのおとうと giri no Otouto Brother-in-law (younger than you)
義理の息子 ぎりのむすこ giri no Musuko Genre
義理の~ ぎりの~ giri no ~ ~ no blood relation

While in English we have only the feminine and masculine of brother, in Japanese there is more than one word to refer to brothers of different ages, but older or younger than the person. We already have an article that talks about onii-chan and others.

Read also: Meaning of Onii-chan, Onee-chan – Siblings in Japanese

Family - members of the family in Japanese

Members of other families - Respectful manner

It is worth remembering that it is not wrong to call your family members by the names below. On the contrary, it may be more common to call your parents oka-san and otto-san than haha and chichi. So the list below may also apply to your family members.

The difference between the previous list and the list below is politeness and respect. Using the terms below is being more respectful, while the previous list is a more informal, childish or intimate way of saying it.

Kanji Kana Rōmaji Meaning
ご家族 ごかぞく go kazoku Someone's family/family members
お爺さん おじいさん ojii san Grandfather / Old Man / Elderly
お婆さん おばあさん obaa san Grandmother / Old Woman / Elderly
伯父さん おじさん oji san Uncle (older than the father)
叔父さん おじさん oji san Uncle (Younger than Father)
伯母さん おばさん oba san Aunt (older than the father)
叔母さん おばさん oba san Aunt (younger than father)
ご両親 ごりょうしん go ryoushin Country
お父さん お と う さ ん Otou san Father
お母さん おかあさん Okaa san Mother
ご兄弟 ごきょうだい go Kyoudai Brothers
お兄さん おにいさん onii san Older Brother
お姉さん おねえさん onee san Older sister
弟さん おとうとさん Otouto san Younger Brother
妹さん いもうとさん imouto san Younger Sister
ご夫婦 ごふうふ go Fuufu Married / Couple / Husband and Wife
ご主人 ごしゅじん go shujin Husband
奥さん おくさん okusan Wife
お子さん おこさん oko san Children
息子さん むすこさん Musuko san Son
お嬢さん おじょうさん ojou san Daughter
お孫さん おまごさん omago san Grandchild
Family - members of the family in Japanese

Cousins and distant relatives in Japanese

kanjikanarōmajiMeaning
祖父母 そふぼ sofubo grandparents
親子ー おやこー oyakoo Parents and sons)
赤ちゃん あかちゃん akachan Baby
曾祖父 そうそふ sōsofu great-grandmother
曾祖母 そうそぼ sōsobo great-grandmother
従兄弟 いとこ itoko cousins
従姉弟 いとこ itoko cousins
従兄 いとこ itoko older cousin
従姉 いとこ itoko older cousin
従弟 いとこ itoko younger cousin
従妹 いとこ itoko younger cousin

Although younger and older cousins are spelled the same. Be careful because they use different ideograms to identify whether the individual is older or younger, male or female, equal brothers in japanese.

The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:

Unrelated family members in Japanese

kanjikanarōmajiMeaning
義父 ぎふ gifu father in law
義母 ぎぼ gibo mother in law
よめ yome daughter in law
婿 むこ muko genro
義兄 ぎけい gikei eldest brother-in-law
義弟 ぎてい gitei younger brother-in-law
義姉 ぎし gishi older sister-in-law
義妹 ぎまい gimai younger sister-in-law

Videos about Kazoku - nihongo

The videos below can help you train your pronunciation and vocabulary. They are kind of childish, but it helps to understand the pronunciation. Hope you enjoyed the article. If you liked it, share and leave comments.

Read also: How to read Japanese? Does the pronunciation and speech change? basic rules

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