Kazoku - Family members in Japanese

Are you curious to know how to say the name of each family member in Japanese? In this article, you will expand your vocabulary and satisfy this 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.

Your family members in Japanese

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

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	Meaning
家族	かぞく	kazoku	Family members / Family
祖父	そふ	sofu	Grandfather
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	Parents
父	ちち	chichi	Father
母	はは	haha	Mother
兄弟	きょうだい	Kyoudai	Siblings
姉妹	しまい	shimai	Sisters
兄	あに	ani	Older Brother
姉	あね	ane	Older Sister
弟	おとうと	Otouto	Younger Brother
妹	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
夫	おっと	otto	Husband
家内	かない	Kanai	Wife
妻	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
娘	むすめ	musume	Daughter
甥	おい	oi	Nephew
姪	めい	mei	Niece
孫	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	Son-in-law
義理の~	ぎりの~	giri no ~	~ without blood relation

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

Members of other families – Respectful mode

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 can also apply to your family members.

The difference between the previous list and the one below is education and respect. By using the terms below, you are being more respectful, while the previous list is a more informal, childish, or intimate way of saying.

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 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 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	Parents
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	Siblings
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

Cousins and distant relatives in Japanese

kanji	kana	rōmaji	Meaning
祖父母	そふぼ	sofubo	Grandparents
親子ー	おやこー	oyakoo	Parents and Child(ren)
赤ちゃん	あかちゃん	akachan	Baby
曾祖父	そうそふ	sōsofu	Great-grandfather
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 (female)
従兄	いとこ	itoko	Older male cousin
従姉	いとこ	itoko	Older female cousin
従弟	いとこ	itoko	Younger male cousin
従妹	いとこ	itoko	Younger female cousin

Although younger and older cousins are written the same way. Be careful because they use different ideograms to identify whether the individual is older or younger, male or female, just like siblings in Japanese.

Family members without blood relation in Japanese

kanji	kana	rōmaji	Meaning
義父	ぎふ	gifu	Father-in-law
義母	ぎぼ	gibo	Mother-in-law
嫁	よめ	yome	Daughter-in-law
婿	むこ	muko	Son-in-law
義兄	ぎけい	gikei	Older 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 practice pronunciation and your vocabulary. They are somewhat childish, but they help to understand pronunciation. I hope you enjoyed the article. If you did, share it and leave comments.