Vocabulary List
家族 (kazoku)
Words for parents, siblings, and relatives — including the special terms used for your own family vs. someone else’s.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 父 | chichi | my father |
| 母 | haha | my mother |
| お父さん | otōsan | father (polite / address form) |
| お母さん | okāsan | mother (polite / address form) |
| 兄 | ani | my older brother |
| 姉 | ane | my older sister |
| 弟 | otōto | younger brother |
| 妹 | imōto | younger sister |
| お兄さん | onīsan | older brother (someone else’s) |
| お姉さん | onēsan | older sister (someone else’s) |
| 祖父 | sofu | grandfather |
| 祖母 | sobo | grandmother |
| 息子 | musuko | son |
| 娘 | musume | daughter |
| 夫 | otto | husband |
| 妻 | tsuma | wife |
| 両親 | ryōshin | parents |
| 家族 | kazoku | family |
Japanese family vocabulary splits into two sets depending on whose family you're talking about. Plain words like 父 (chichi) and 母 (haha) refer humbly to your own family when speaking to someone outside it. The お…さん forms — お父さん (otōsan), お母さん (okāsan), お兄さん (onīsan) — are used to address your own family members directly, or to refer respectfully to someone else's family. There's also no single word for "younger sibling" or "older sibling" without specifying gender — Japanese always distinguishes 兄/姉 (older brother/sister) from 弟/妹 (younger brother/sister), reflecting the importance of birth order in Japanese social relationships.
See the full reference page for 家族 (family), including stroke order and related words.