Last week I was asked by a friend how to ask if someone is married and she also asked how to say cousin and grandchild in japanese. So I thought I’d post a thread about family members and family-related phrases. One tricky thing is that you use different words for family members depending on if you are talking about your family or someone else’s family.

There are also casual ways to call family members. Some examples which are often used by young people are:

Mother: かあちゃん、おかあちゃん、お母ん(okan – often used in Kansai region), お袋 (ofukuru)

Father: おとうちゃん、とうちゃん、お父ん (oton – often used in Kansai region), 親父 (oyaji)

Other :

Family – 家族 (kazoku)

Parents – 両親 (ryoushin)

Child – 子供 (kodomo)

Siblings /Brothers -兄弟 (kyoudai)

Sisters – 姉妹 (shimai)

Relatives – 親戚 (shinseki)

Married couple -夫婦 (fuufu)

Cousin – いとこ (itoko)

Useful phrases:

結婚していますか。(kekkon shite imasuka) – Are you married.

あなたの家族は何人ですか。(anata no kazoku ha nan nin desuka) How many people are there in your family.

子供 / 兄弟がいますか。(kodomo / kyoudai ga imasu ka) -Do you have children / siblings.

結婚しています。(kekkon shite imasu) – I am married.

独身です。(dokushin desu) – I am single