Lesson 13 of 126
The lesson
1.13 Family
Overview
Learn Japanese family vocabulary. Japanese has two sets of family words depending on whether you are talking about your own family or someone else's.
Japanese family vocabulary has an important distinction: you use different words depending on whether you are talking about your own family or someone else's.
- Plain forms (ちち、はは...) are used when referring to your own family to others
- Honorific forms (おとうさん、おかあさん...) are used for someone else's family, or when directly addressing your own family members
This is part of the Japanese concept of in-group (内, uchi) vs. out-group (外, soto). When talking to someone outside your family, you lower your own family to show respect to the listener.
| Relation | Your family (plain) | Their family / address (honorific) |
|---|---|---|
| father | ちち | おとうさん |
| mother | はは | おかあさん |
| older brother | あに | おにいさん |
| older sister | あね | おねえさん |
| younger brother | おとうと | おとうとさん |
| younger sister | いもうと | いもうとさん |
| grandfather | そふ | おじいさん |
| grandmother | そぼ | おばあさん |
| parents | りょうしん | ごりょうしん |
| family | かぞく | ごかぞく |
For younger siblings, the plain form is used in most situations — the honorific versions exist but are uncommon.
Sentence examples
Dialogue
A: How many people are in your family? B: Four. My father, mother, older brother, and me.
A: What does your older brother do for work? B: He's an office worker.
A: Do you have a grandfather and grandmother? B: Yes, my grandfather and grandmother live in Osaka.
New words
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Lingaku