Menu
 
» »Unlabelled » Family Members List

A+ A-

Introduction

This post is so long it needs an introduction. To clear any doubts you may have:

chichi 父 and otousan お父さん are written like that. Furthermore,

There are too many synonyms in this article. Check the

Terms Found in References

The term as seen in the titles of many referenced articles stands for "not good" and means you shouldn't use or say something.
  • wo sasu を指す
    To point at. (literally)
    To refer to.
  • yobikata 呼び方
    Way of calling (someone).
  • uyamau 敬う
    To show reverence toward. (honorific terms do this.)

Summary

A summarized version of this whole article:
  • kazoku 家族
    Family.
  • otousan お父さん
    chichi 父
    Father.
  • okaasan お母さん
    haha 母
    Mother.
  • oya 親
    Parent.
  • musuko 息子
    Son.
  • musume 娘
    Daughter.
  • ko 子
    Child.
  • oniisan お兄さん
    ani 兄
    Older brother.
  • otouto 弟
    Younger brother.
  • oneesan お姉さん
    ane 姉
    Older sister.
  • imouto 妹
    Younger sister.
  • kyoudaishimai 兄弟姉妹
    Siblings.
  • ojiisan お祖父さん
    sofu 祖父
    Grandfather.
  • obaasan お祖母さん
    sobo 祖母
    Grandmother.
  • sofubo 祖父母
    Grandparents.
  • magomusuko 孫息子
    Grandson.
  • magomusume 孫娘
    Granddaughter.
  • mago 孫
    Grandchild.

Chart

Here's a chart of the Japanese family words:

Family

To say family in Japanese:
  • kazoku 家族

(Note: ohana お鼻 means "nose.")

When "family" refers to one's "household," the term katei 家庭 is used instead. This would be used in cases like "familial" matters, something that happened inside the family. That is: kazoku is a family as a structure, kinship, while katei is domestic, related to home.

One phrase common in anime is katei jijou 家庭事情, "familial circumstances," usually used when a characters parents want him to move from one school to another or something like that.

Family Tree

To say family tree in Japanese:

  • kakeizu 家系図


This is because a kakei 家系 is the "lineage of a family," while a zu 図 is a "diagram."

Father

To say father in Japanese:
  • otousan お父さん
  • otousama お父様
  • otouchan お父ちゃん
  • tousan 父さん
  • touchan 父ちゃん
  • otou お父 [san, sama, chan difference]

    Note: a "father" as in a "priest" of the Catholic church, etc. is shinpu 神父 in Japanese.

    Mother

    The words for mother in Japanese:

    Son

    The word for son in Japanese is:
    • musuko 息子

    Toward the sons of other people, the following words are used:
    • musukosan 息子さん
    • goshisoku ご子息
    • goreisoku ご令息

    The terms goshisoku and goreisoku are more formal and may be considered too formal to use normally, specially goreisoku.

    Daughter

    The word for daughter in Japanese is:
    • musume 娘

    Toward the daughters of other people, the following words are used:
    • musumesan 娘さん
    • goshijo ご子女
    • gosokujo ご息女
    • goreijou ご令嬢

    The terms goshijo, gosokujo and goreijo are formal, and sometimes considered too formal to be used normally, specially goreijou.

    Parent

    To say parent in Japanese:
    • oya 親
      Parent.
    • ryoushin 両親
      Both parents.
    • goryoushin ご両親
      (someone else's) parents.
    • fubo 父母
      Father and mother.
      Father or mother. (in some cases)
    • kataoya 片親
      Single parent. One of the two parents.
    • futaoya 二親
      Two parents.

    The terms above may all be used to say "parents" in Japanese. The term goryoushin ご両親, with the go ご honorific, is used to refer to the parents of other people, not your parents, only of other people.

    Child

    To say child in Japanese:
    • ko 子
      Child.
    • okosan お子さん
      (someone else's) child.
    • __ no ko 〇〇の子
      __'s child. (insert name there.)

    The word kodomo 子供 may refer to someone's "children" in plural, __ no kodomo 〇〇の子供. But it may also refer to "children" as in "they're young."

    (note: there's an entirely separate article for

    Parent & Child

    The following terms are used when when talking about parent and child at the same time.
    • oyako 親子
      Parent and child.
    • fushi 父子
      Father and child.
    • boshi 母子
      Mother and child.

    Sometimes, the kanji for "daughter," musume 娘, may be used instead of ko 子 in the words above to hint the gender of the child is female. These'd be , artificial readings. For example:
    • oyako 親娘
      oyamusume 親娘
      Parent and daughter.

    Birth Order

    In Japanese, there are terms for sons and daughters based their birth order, which are used instead of phrases like "first son," "oldest son," "first daughter," etc. we'd use in English.

    Counters

    Normally, the children are counted using numbers and counters.
    • ichinan 一男
      First-born son. Eldest son.
    • jinan 次男 (二男)
      Second-born son.
    • san'nan 三男
      Third-born son.
    • yon'nan 四男
      Fourth-born son.
    • ichijo 一女
      First-born daughter. Eldest daughter.
    • jijo 次女 (二女)
      Second-born daughter.
    • sanjo 三女
      Third-born daughter.
    • yonjo 四女
      Fourth-born daughter.
    • isshi 一子
      First child.

    You may have noticed the terms jinan 次男 and jijo 次女 are not written with the kanji for "two," ni 二, and not read ninan and nijo either. This happens because they second son and daughter are the "next" (after the first) son and daughter, so they're written with the kanji for "next," tsugi 次. They may be written with 二 too, but they'd still be read jinan and jijo.

    Eldest Child

    There are synonyms for "first-born" that use the kanji for the word "long," nagai 長い, because they've been born for the longest time, they're older, the eldest.
    • chounan 長男
      Eldest son.
    • choujo 長女
      Eldest daughter.
    • choushi 長子
      Eldest child.

    For the record: the chounan is the chounan forever. The jinan never becomes chounan, not even if the chounan dies and the jinan surpasses him in (living) age. The same applies to the other words.

    Youngest Child

    The terms for the "youngest" child in Japanese used the kanji for the word "end," matsu 末, as they're the last children born and consequently at the end of the offspring list.
    • matsunan 末男
      Youngest son.
    • matsujo 末女
      Youngest daughter.
    • suekko 末っ子
      Youngest child.

    Numbered Son Names

    In some cases, parents may name their sons following a certain custom of adding a suffix according to their birth order. In which case, the name of a person (or anime character) hints whether they're the youngest or have an older brother, etc.
    • tarou 太郎
      ichirou 一郎
      First-born son.
    • jirou 次郎
      Second-born son.
    • saburou 三郎
      Third-born son.
    • shirou 四郎
      Fourth-born son.

    For example, in Uchouten Kazoku, the name of the sons of main character's family are: Yaichirou, Yajirou, Yasaburou, and Yashirou.

    This practice is called

    Husband

    To say husband in Japanese:
    • otto 夫

    The word above means "husband" literally. The following words are used when referring to one's husband in person:

    Shujin 主人

    • shujin 主人
    • goshujin ご主人
    • goshujinsan ご主人さん
    • goshujinsama ご主人様

    The word shujin originates from the "lord," aruji 主, of a home, implying the husband, in which case everyone else in that same home serves the lord, the man of the house.

    Although most people don't really care the term's origins, some of the working women in modern society may be against its usage, as the word seems rather sexist. It always means husband, never wife, implying you can assume the lord of the house is male. The term onnashujin 女主人 exists for female shujin, but that word is not used to say "wife."

    The term goshujin, with the honorific prefix go 御, would refer to other people's husbands, as it's unusual to use honorifics toward yourself. You don't need to use honorific suffixes (san, sama) with this word.

    In anime, the term goshujinsama often refers to a maid's "master," in other words, the lord of the house where the maid serves. It's also used in similar fashion in other contexts.

    Dan'na 旦那

    • dan'na 旦那
    • dan'nasan 旦那さん
    • dan'nasama 旦那様

    The dan'na words are often used more casually than shujin.

    Besides meaning "husband," the word dan'na may also refer to the master of a house, like shujin, and sometimes it can also refer to the master (owner) of a shop, so long as he is a man.

    Besides that, dan'na 旦那, written as dan'na 檀那, means "(male) patron," and it's used to refer to male customers of shops. This is similar to how the word "boss" is sometimes used in English to refer to customers, as they're the ones giving the orders.

    Besides that, too, the origin of dan'na 旦那 lies in the word daana ダーナ, loaned from Sanskrit, where it would mean "donation." Basically donation means patron means customers means "boss" means master of the shop means master of the house means husband.

    Father Words

    Sometimes, words that would usually mean "
    • otousan お父さん
    • papa パパ

    Anata あなた

    Sometimes, the word anata あなた, meaning "you," is used by wives when talking to their husbands. This contrast with the usual way to refer to people in Japanese: normally you wouldn't refer to people by

    Note that anata is only used when talking to the husband. There's no such thing as "my anata" meaning my "husband."

    Groom

    To say groom in Japanese:

    References

    Wife

    To say wife in Japanese:
    • tsuma 妻


    The word above means "wife" literally. The following words are used to refer to wives:

    • yome 嫁
    • yomesan 嫁さん

    Originally, yome referred to the bride of your son, but nowadays it's also used to refer to your own bride, or your own wife too.
    • okusan 奥さん
    • okusama 奥様

    The term okusama is normally used to refer to other people's wives, not yours. Although some people use it to refer to their own wife.

    The following terms feel a bit old, but they also exist:
    • kamisan 上さん
    • kanai 家内
    • nyoubou 女房

    Mother Words

    Sometimes, words that would usually mean " mother " can be used to refer to one's wife.

    • okaasan お母さん
    • mama ママ

    Bride

    To say bride in Japanese:

    (note: ore no yome 俺の嫁, "my wife/bride," is the Japanese equivalent of

    References

    In-Laws

    The words to refer to in-laws are the following:
    • muko 婿
      Son-in-law.
      Husband of your daughter.
    • yome 嫁
      Daughter-in-law.
      Wife of your son.
    • shuutome 姑
      Mother-in-law.
      Mother of your spouse.
    • shuuto 舅
      Father-in-law.
      Father of your spouse.

    The following words have the "artificial," gi 義, prefix and have other uses (like adoptive relatives, etc.). But they can be used to refer to in-laws too.
    • gibo 義母
      giri no haha 義理の母
      Mother-in-law.
    • gifu 義父
      giri no chichi 義理の父
      Father-in-law.
    • gikyoudai 義兄弟
      Brothers-in-law.
      Siblings-in-law.
    • gikei 義兄
      Older brother-in-law.
    • gitei 義弟
      Younger brother-in-law.
    • gishi 義姉
      giri no ane 義理の姉
      Older sister-in-law.
    • gimai 義妹
      giri no imouto 義理の妹
      Younger sister-in-law.

    Spouses & Marriage

    Some more words about spouses, marriage, husbands and wives:
    • haiguusha 配偶者
      Spouse. Partner.
    • paatonaa パートナー
      Partner.
    • fuufu 夫婦
      Husband and wife.
      Married couple.
    • kekkon 結婚
      Marriage.
    • kekkon suru 結婚する
      To marry.
    • X to kekkon suru Xと結婚する
      To marry with X.

    Brother

    To say brother in Japanese there are different words depending on whether they're your older brother or younger brother.

    Older Brother

    To say older brother in Japanese:

    Younger Brother

    To say younger brother in Japanese:
    • otouto 弟

    The term otoutosan 弟さん is used when talking about the otouto of someone else.

    Eldest Brother

    An older brother is just any of your brothers older than you. The eldest brother is specifically called:
    • choukei 長兄


    Youngest Brother

    Conversely, the youngest brother among your siblings is called:
    • battei 末弟


    Sister

    To say sister in Japanese there are different words depending on whether they're your older sister or your younger sister.

    Older Sister

    To say older sister in Japanese:

    Younger Sister

    To say younger sister in Japanese:
    • imouto 妹

    Th term imoutosan 妹さん is used when talking about the imouto of someone else.

    Eldest Sister

    An older sister is just any of your sister older than you. The eldest sister is specifically called:
    • choushi 長姉


    Youngest Sister

    Conversely, the youngest sister among your siblings is called:
    • matsumai 末妹


    Siblings

    The words for siblings in Japanese are written with the kanji of the words for brothers and sisters.
    • kyoudai 兄弟
      Brothers. (male)
      Siblings. (neutral)
    • shimai 姉妹
      Sisters.
    • kyoudaishimai 兄弟姉妹
      Brothers and sisters.
      Siblings.

    兄弟, 兄妹, 姉弟, 姉妹

    Sometimes, the word kyoudai may be written with different kanji depending on the gender of the siblings, as a gikun, even though the words keimai, shitei and shimai exist.
    • kyoudai 兄弟
      Older brother, younger brother.
    • kyoudai 兄妹
      keimai 兄妹
      Older brother, younger sister.
    • kyoudai 姉弟
      shitei 姉弟
      Older sister, younger brother.
    • kyoudai 姉妹
      shimai 姉妹
      Older sister, younger sister.

    Twins

    The word for twins in Japanese is:
    • futago 双子

    Terms for "multiple birth," tatai 多胎, of higher numbers include:
    • mitsugo 三つ子
      Triplets.
    • yotsugo 四つ子
      Quadruplets.
    • itsutsugo 五つ子
      Quintuplets.
    • mutsugo 六つ子
      Sextuplets.
      (you know, like in Osomatsu-san おそ松さん)
    • nanatsugo 七つ子
      Septuplets.
    • yatsugo 八つ子
      Octuplets.
    • kokonotsugo 九つ子
      Nonuplets.
    • juttsugo 十つ子
      Decuplets.

    References

    Grandfather

    To say grandfather in Japanese:

    Sometimes the words above are written with another kanji, for example ojiisan お爺さん. This is usually a way to refer to just any "old man" rather than anyone's actual grandfather. Just like "grandpa" is sometimes used toward elders in English.

    Great-Grandfather

    To say great-grandfather in Japanese:

    • sou-sofu 曾祖父
      hii-jiji 曾祖父
      ooooji 大祖父 (seriously? おおおお? Seriously??)
      Great-grandfather.
    • kou-sofu 高祖父
      Great-great-grandfather.


    (note: there are no common words for greatness above this.)

    Grandmother

    To say grandmother in Japanese:

    When written as obaasan お婆さん, the word refers to a "old woman" familial relationship. The same as "grandma" is used in English.

    Great-Grandmother

    To say great-grandmother in Japanese:

    • sou-sobo 曾祖母
      hii-baba 曾祖母
      Great-grandmother.
    • kou-sobo 高祖母
      Great-great-grandmother.


    (note: there are no common words for greatness above this.)

    Grandchild

    To say grandchild in Japanese:
    • mago 孫
      Grandchild.
    • magomusuko 孫息子
      Grandson.
    • magomusume 孫娘
      Granddaughter.

    Great-Grandchild

    To say great-grandchild in Japanese and further:

    • himago ひ孫
      himago 曾孫
      souson 曾孫
      Great-grandchild.
    • yashago 玄孫
      genson 玄孫
      Great-great-grandchild.
    • raigon 来孫
      Great-great-great-grandchild.
    • konson 昆孫
      Great-great-great-great-grandchild.
    • jouson 仍孫
      Great-great-great-great-great-grandchild.
    • unson 雲孫
      Great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchild.


    Isn't that great?

    References

    Grandparents

    To say grandparents in Japanese:
    • sofubo 祖父母
      Grandparents.
      Grandfather and [grand]mother.

    Great-Grandparents

    To say great-grandparents in Japanese:

    • sou-sofubo 曽祖父母
      Great-grandparents.
    • kou-sofubo 高祖父母
      Great-great-grandparents.


    (note: there are no common words for greatness above this.)

    Uncle

    To say uncle in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "older brother," ani 兄:

    To say uncle in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "younger brother," otouto 弟:

    To say uncle in Japanese, when calling some random old man "uncle" colloquially even though you're not related at all: ojisan 小父さん.

    (see

    Aunt

    To say aunt in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "older sister," ane 姉:

    To say aunt in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "younger sister," imouto 妹:

    The word obasan 小母さん may be used colloquially to refer to random old women, family or not.

    (see

    Cousin

    To say cousin in Japanese:
    • itoko いとこ
    • itoko 従兄弟
    • itoko 従姉妹
    • itoko 従兄
      juukei 従兄
    • itoko 従弟
      juutei 従弟
    • itoko 従姉
      juushi 従姉
    • itoko 従妹
      juumai 従妹

    Just use itoko いとこ or check

    Second Cousin

    Your first cousins are the children of the siblings of your parents. Your second cousins are the grandchildren of the siblings of your grandparents, To say second cousin in Japanese:
    • hatoko はとこ
      hatoko 再従兄弟
    • mataitoko 又いとこ
    • futaitoko 二いとこ
    • iyaitoko 弥いとこ

    The いとこ part may be written with kanji following the same rules as the word itoko いとこ, "cousin."

    The word hatoko is a kana (はとこ) but 4 kanji (再従兄弟). Very exceptional. Anyway, it works the same as its synonyms. You can change the 従兄弟 part in 再従兄弟 depending on the second cousin.

    References

    Nephew

    To say nephew in Japanese:
    • oi 甥
    • oikko 甥っ子
    • oigo 甥御

    Niece

    To say niece in Japanese:
    • mei 姪
    • meikko 姪っ子
    • meigo 姪御

    Nephew & Niece

    To refer to any nephews or nieces you may or may not have:

    • oimei 甥姪


    In other words: kyoudai-shimai no kodomo 兄弟姉妹の子供, "children of your brothers and sisters."

    Adopted Family

    • koji 孤児
      Orphan.
    • yashinau 養う
      To adopt (a child, not an idea, attitude, etc.).
    • youshi-engumi 養子縁組
      Adoption.
    • youshin 養親
      Adoptive parent (or parents.)
    • youshi 養子
      Adopted child.
    • youfubo 養父母
      Adoptive father and mother.
      Adoptive parents.
    • youjo 養女
      Adopted daughter.
    • youka 養家
      Adoptive family.
    Generally speaking, jitsu 実, "real," implies someone is related by blood, while gi 義 and giri 義理 implies they are not related by blood.

    For example:
    • giri no haha 義理の母
      gibo 義母
      Stepmother.
      Foster mother.
      Mother-in-law.
    • giri no chichi 義理の父
      gifu 義父
      Stepfather.
      Foster father.
      Father-in-law.
    • giri no kyoudai 義理の兄弟
      Stepbrothers.
      Foster brothers.
      Brothers-in-law.

    And so on. Some examples of the counterpart:
    • jitsu no imouto 実の妹
      jitsumai 実妹
      Younger sister related by blood. Biological younger sister.
    • jitsu no ani 実の兄
      jikkei 実兄
      Older brother related by blood. Biological older brother.

    By the way, chi no tsunagari 血の繋がり, literally "connection of blood," refers to blood relationships.

    Nuances, Usage & Differences

    Honorifics

    A number of words for family members have san, chan and sama. For example:
    • otousan, otouchan, otousama
    • okaasan, okaachan, oksaama
    • oniisan, oniichan, oniisama
    • oneesan, oneechan, oneesama
    • ojiisan, ojiichan, ojiisama
    • obaasan, obaachan, obaasama
    • ojisan, ojichan, ojisama
    • obasan, obachan, obasama

    These words all refer to the same thing regardless of suffix. That is: oniisan, oniisama, and oniichan all mean "older brother." Likewise, oneesan, oneesama, and oneechan all mean "older sister."

    The difference between them is in nuance.

    The san suffix may be regarded as neutral. The sama suffix is more formal, traditional, respectful, and puts a distance between the speaker and the person they're referring to. Meanwhile, the chan suffix is less formal, and more intimate, friendly, chummy instead, implying closeness between the speaker and whom they're referring to.

    Cues in Anime

    In anime, the suffix used may hint the relationship between the characters and show an aspect of their family.

    For example: when calling fathers, mothers, older siblings with sama, it implies respect. This may mean the family places importance in tradition. Like a rich family where children are educated to say "father," and not just "dad," as that may sound ridiculous if heard by others.

    In some cases, an older brother or sister being called with sama implies the younger sibling has excessive admiration for them.

    On the other side, using chan implies it's a cozier family where rigid norms don't really matter. Toward parents, it may imply a good relationship with them. Or it may imply it's a poor family. Or one from the countryside.

    (In Rose of The Versailles, one character is ridiculed in a royal court for calling their parent with -chan.)

    Referring to siblings with chan implies the closeness likewise. Sometimes this is done mockingly.

    父 vs. お父さん, 母 vs. お母さん

    A number of Japanese words for family members have versions with and without honorifics. For example:
    • chichi and otousan
    • haha and okaasan
    • ani and oniisan
    • ane and oneesan
    • sofu and ojiisan
    • sobo and obaasan

    There's no difference between these words in meaning. Both chichi and otousan mean "father." Both haha and okaasan mean "mother." The difference between chichi and otousan, haha and okaasan, etc. is in how they are used.

    Basically, it follows the golden rule that you don't use honorifics toward yourself, except on a familial level instead.

    The versions with honorifics, otousan, okaasan, etc. are used only when talking to someone inside the family, "relatives," miuchi 身内, while the versions without honorifics, chichi, haha, etc. are used outside the family, "other people," tanin 他人.

    For example:
    • If you are talking to your father,
      you use otousan.
    • If you are talking to your mother,
      about your father,
      you use otousan.
    • If you are talking to your brothers,
      about your father,
      you use otousan.
    • If you are talking to someone you met on the street,
      about your father,
      you use chichi.

    Following that, if you're talking about someone else's relatives, you may use honorifics too.

    For example:
    • watashi no chichi to anata no otousan 私の父とあなたのお父さん
      My father and your father.

    This means that, when one character is talking to someone they are not related to, chichi refers to their father, while otousan refers to the father of whom they're talking to.

    Note that to some people mistaking the usage described above makes you look like you weren't properly taught how to use the words. Also note that some people do mistake how the words are used. And some people do not mind how they are used. So it's a really tricky set of words.

    References

    パパ, ママ

    Some children use the terms papa and mama instead of otousan and okaasan to refer to their own parents.

    You might imagine this would only be a trivial fraction of all children, as papa and mama are obviously western words, surely otouchan and okaachan or something more Japanese-sounding would be more adequate?

    However, a good portion of the families (39.8% according to the referenced data) have their children use papa and mama inside the family, when not talking to people outside the family.

    Note that the word

    References

    父親, 母親

    The terms chichioya and hahaoya differ from haha and chichi in the way they're used.

    When you use chichi and haha, you're talking about what a person, who happens to be a father or a mother, is doing. That is, it's merely a way to refer to them, to describe them. You can replace these words by their names every time and the phrase would still make sense.

    "Mother went to X," for example.

    Meanwhile, chichioya and hahaoya refer to parents as parents, acting in their capacity as parents. They can be used, for example, to speak generally: "a mother would do this," or, "mothers do this."

    Furthermore, there are cases where chichioya and hahaoya refer to one's parents, not parents in general. In this case, the terms are used because they feel more general, therefore more distant, and lack the intimate aspect of chichi and haha.

    In other words: chichi and haha sound too casual when compared to chichioya and hahaoya, so people use the oya words instead in situations they want to avoid sounding too cozy.

    References

    親父, お袋

    The terms oyaji and ofukuro mean "father" and "mother" respectively. They're used mostly by men, not by women.

    In anime, characters calling their fathers oyaji are common. Some of them have a rebel personality, making the term oyaji sound like a disrespectful word. In fact, some people in real life think the term is impolite.

    That isn't necessarily true. Sure, these terms aren't exactly full of reverence, however, they're often simply the way people end up calling their parents. It doesn't imply they respect them less or more. It can imply they have a closer relationship, maybe, but it would be wrong to assume someone who says oyaji is in bad terms with their father.

    Sometimes, suffixes are added to the words: oyajisan 親父さん, ofukurosan お袋さん. The contraction oyassan おやっさん also exists.

    References

    父上, 母上, 兄上, 姉上

    There are some Japanese terms for family members that end in ue 上. They're simply the non-ue version with ue added to it.
    • chichi and chichiue.
    • haha and hahaue.
    • ani and aniue.
    • ane and aneue.

    The words above infer reverence, as ue 上 means above. So they're generally used toward seniors. The words for son, daughter and younger brother, younger sister do not have ue 上 versions.

    The difference between chichi and chichiue, haha and hahaue, etc. is in how they're used. There's no difference in meaning. Both chichi and chichiue mean "father," and so on.

    The words with ue, chichiue, hahaue, aniue, aneue, are not used in modern times. They were more common in the Meiji era (before 1912). Nowadays chichi and the other non-ue words are used more instead.

    So if you have to choose, choose the words without ue.

    In writing, the ue words may still be used, just not in speech. Also note that some families still prefer to use the ue words instead, but that's just some particular cases and not the general situation.

    In anime, fiction, etc., specially theater pieces, the usage of chichiue, hahaue, aniue, aneue indicates the character comes from a very traditional family, or that they're somehow anachronistic. Like they time-traveled to or from the Meiji era or something.

    References

      父君, 母君

      The words fukun, also read chichigimi, and hahagimi, are ways to refer with reverence to a father and a mother.

      These words are like chichiue and hahaue: they're rather old, they aren't used much in speech, and they are found more in writing.

      One difference, however, is that chichiue and hahaue are used to refer to your own parents, while chichigimi and hahagimi are used to refer to someone else's parents.

      References

      父御, 母御

      The words chichigo and hahago are just like chichigimi and hahagimi, used to refer to other people's parents, mainly used in writing, except the terms feel a bit older-fashioned.

      The word chichigo is also read as tetego.

      尊父, 御親父

      The words sonpu and and goshinpu are mainly used to refer to the parents of whom you're talking. These are also words of reverence, and also used more in writing.

      ファーザー, マザー, シスター, ブラザー

      The words faazaa, mazaa, shisutaa, and burazaa are

      Although these words aren't really used in real life to refer to people's family, they're often seen in loaned words that make use of them, like "motherboard," for example.

      More often, these words refer to another type of relationship. For example, shisutaa can refer to a "nun," like "sister" sometimes does in English.

      In anime, there are cases where characters may call their family by these words but that's just anime being anime.

      兄貴, 姉貴

      The words aniki and aneki refer to a brother and a sister respectively. These words are like aniue and aneue, they refer to them with reverence, except they are still used in speech to this day.

      The reason for this is probably that aniki and aneki are sometimes used to refer not to one's real brother, but just to an older guy or girl whom they respect. That is: it's basically , the "bro" version, and its female counterpart.

      In particular, in anime it's common for gang members to call their boss aniki, even if that boss is just a middle-management kinda boss and he has a bossier gang boss himself. Likewise, girl gangs would use aneki.

        兄者, 姉者, 兄者人, 姉者人

        The words anija and aneja are words used in the past to refer to the "older brother" and "older sister" respectively. They aren't used in modern speech, but you may see it in songs, anime, manga, etc.

        They're abbreviations of anijahito 兄者人 and anejahito 姉者人.

        Since these words infer reverence to whom they refer to, they exist only for the seniors, the older brother and older sister.

        Words such otoja 弟者, which would be the "younger brother" variant, probably did not exist when onija and oneja were in use,. Instead, it's possible they were made up in modern times. Remember: onija and oneja are still used in fiction, music, etc. today. So someone, knowing onija was a word, figured otoja would be a word too.

        References

        お坊ちゃん, お嬢さん

        The terms obocchan and ojousan are two separate words that have similar usage. They refer to someone else's son and daughter respectively, and they're used in reverence.

        The origin of obocchan seems to come from "Buddhist priests," bouzu 坊主. Because of their iconic crew cut hairstyle, the term "bouzu head," bouzu-atama 坊主頭, even came to mean that. And young boys, who had such hairstyle, ended up being called obocchan affectionately.

        This is why obocchan, with the affectionate chan, often refers to the son of someone, while obousan, with a simple san, rather refers to a Buddhist priest.

        The word ojousan, on the other hand, normally refers to someone's daughter, simply put. But it can be used in other ways too.

        For example, sometimes ojousan refers to a young woman whose name is unknown.

        Because the terms obocchan and ojousama refer to children but have honorifics, they've come to be associated with children of rich families. After all, among lesser enriched families people wouldn't waste time with such pleasantries.

        In anime, it's often butlers, maids, etc. that call the children of their masters these words:
        • obocchan おぼっちゃん
        • obocchama おぼっちゃま
        • ojouchan お嬢ちゃん
        • ojousan お嬢さん
        • ojousama お嬢様

        Since these terms are associated with rich children, it's sometimes the case of saying someone is an obocchan or ojousama mockingly if they appear to be from a rich family. In this case you aren't really saying "son" or "daughter," it's more like a slang that implies they're snobby, or have a different social position, tastes, etc.

        References

        おおじ, おおば

        The terms ooji and ooba are used to refer to a grandfather and grandmother respectively. These terms come from oochichi 大父, literally "great father," and oohaha 大母, "great mother," respectively.

        じじ, ばば

        The terms jiji, baba are used to refer to a grandfather and a grandmother respectively. The terms jii じい and jiiji じいじ are distortions of jiji じじ, while baaba ばあば is a distortion of baba ばば.

        These terms are usually associated with children, who eventually stop using these words and start saying something else when they grow up. This isn't always the case, however, as there are adults who use them too.

        Some people consider these terms a bit rude, believing ojiisan and obaasan should be used instead.

        外祖父, 内祖父, 外祖母, 内祖母, 外孫, 内孫

        Historically, Japan has a system where the one true heir of a given family is usually be the "oldest son," chounan 長男, the "first-born son," ichinan 一男.

        Since this heir would inherit everything of the family, the family business, firms, heirlooms, cursed swords with demons sealed inside, houses, properties, style of martial arts, assets, etc. the heir would probably have to stay home learning about his ancestry and the techniques that have been passed down his family line for generations.

        Meanwhile, the daughters and the younger sons would go away and get married off into other families.

        Because of this, there's a practice of calling the heirs of the family line "inside," uchi 内, since they stay inside the family, and those that married into the family "outside," soto 外, since they come from outside the family. This can be seen in the following words:
        • nai-sofu 内祖父
        • nai-sobo 内祖母
        • nai-son 内孫
          uchi-mago 内孫
        • gai-sofu 外祖父
        • gai-sobo 外祖母
        • gai-son 外孫
          soto-mago 外孫

        The easiest way to tell these apart is the surname, or family name.

        If your grandparent had to changed their family name to yours, they're from "outside" and entered the family. If your grandchild has a different surname than yours, they've left your family and gone "outside."

        Generally speaking, the child of your son is "inside" while the child of your daughter is "outside."

        An exception happens when a mukoyoushi 婿養子 is involved, which is a husband that takes the wife's family name. If your son is a mukoyoushi, he changed his family name, so his child is going to be "outside" your family. Conversely, if your daughter marries a mukoyoushi, she keeps your family name, so her child would be "inside" your family.

        The practice of calling heirs this way has fallen out of usage since World War II, probably because it became less relevant in modern times. Because of this, not everyone knows the words' original meanings.

        Instead, they'll assume a gaisofu always means the maternal grandfather, as it normally means that, even though there's a possibility that's not the case.

        For example, if your father is mukoyoushi, then gaisofu would be your paternal grandfather, because your mother kept her family name. Since you inherited the family name from your mother, you were born "inside" your mother's family, and "outside" your father's family. Consequently, your mother parents are "inside" and your father parents "outside."

        References

        叔父, 伯父, 叔母, 伯母

        In Japanese, the words "uncle," oji, "aunt," oba, and their derivatives may be oji, 伯母 and 叔母 for oba.

        The difference between 伯父 and 叔父 is that 伯父 is your "mother or father's older brother," fubo no ani 父母の兄, while 叔父 is your "mother or father's younger brother," fubo no otouto 父母の弟.

        Likewise, the difference between 伯母 and 叔母 is that 伯母 is your "mother or father's older sister," fubo no ane 父母の姉, while 叔母 is your "mother or father's younger sister," fubo no imouto 父母の妹.

        Why Different Kanji?

        The truth is there aren't Japanese words for your "parent's younger brother" and for your "parent's older brother." There's only one single word for both cases: oji, your "parent's brother."

        The reason it gets written differently according to the seniority is because kanji were imported from China, and in the Chinese language (I guess) there's one word for the younger brother uncle and one word for the older brother uncle.

        So Chinese had four words while Japanese only has two, oji and oba. This mismatch is why there are extra ways to write the same Japanese word and those extra ways bear different meaning according to their Chinese origins.

        従兄弟, 従姉妹, 従兄, 従弟, 従姉, 従妹

        The word for cousin in Japanese, itoko いとこ, may be

        When written with just the kanji for older brother, younger brother, older sister, or younger sister, it implies the gender and age of the cousin in question. In this case, the age refers to whether the cousin is older or younger than you (or if you say X's cousin, older or younger than X.)
        • itoko 従兄
          Older male cousin.
        • itoko 従弟
          Younger male cousin.
        • itoko 従姉
          Older female cousin.
        • itoko 従妹
          Younger female cousin.

        Those kanji can be combined, just like in the words "brothers," kyoudai 兄妹, or "sisters," shimai 姉妹, in which case it refers to:
        • itoko 従兄弟
          Male cousins.
        • itoko 従姉妹
          Female cousins.
        • itoko 従兄妹
          One male cousin and his younger sister.
        • itoko 従姉弟
          One female cousin and her younger brother.

        Why Itoko Has So Many Kanji?

        The reason why the word itoko words this way is because in Chinese there are actually different words depending on the cousin and the kanji combinations stem from how those words are written in hanzi..

        Basically, there's just one common Japanese word, itoko, for all those Chinese counterparts, which is why itoko becomes gikun

        Sometimes those words can get read with instead, changing depending on the kanji, for example:
        • juukei 従兄
        • juutei 従弟
        • juushi 従姉
        • juumai 従妹

        References

        For reference, a list of words for family members in Japanese.This post is so long it needs an introduction. To clear any doubts you may have: Kanji can be read different ways . This is why父 andお父さん are written like that. Furthermore, one same word can be written with different kanji There are too many synonyms in this article. Check the nuances section at the end for clarification between multiple words. (in particular, the difference between chichi 父 and otousan お父さん The termas seen in the titles of many referenced articles stands for "not good" and means you shouldn't use or say something.A summarized version of this whole article:Here's a chart of the Japanese family words:To say family in Japanese:(Note:お鼻 means "nose.")When "family" refers to one's "household," the term家庭 is used instead. This would be used in cases like "familial" matters, something that happened inside the family. That is:is a family as a structure, kinship, whileis domestic, related to home.One phrase common in anime is家庭事情, "familial circumstances," usually used when a characters parents want him to move from one school to another or something like that.To say father in Japanese:Note: a "father" as in a "priest" of the Catholic church, etc. is神父 in Japanese.The words for mother in Japanese:The word for son in Japanese is:Toward the sons of other people, the following words are used:The termsandare more formal and may be considered too formal to use normally, speciallyThe word for daughter in Japanese is:Toward the daughters of other people, the following words are used:The termsandare formal, and sometimes considered too formal to be used normally, speciallyTo say parent in Japanese:The terms above may all be used to say "parents" in Japanese. The termご両親, with theご honorific, is used to refer to the parents of other people, not your parents, only of other people.To say child in Japanese:The word子供 may refer to someone's "children" in plural,〇〇の子供. But it may also refer to "children" as in "they're young."(note: there's an entirely separate article for ko 子 because that word has other uses.)The following terms are used when when talking about parent and child at the same time.Sometimes, thefor "daughter,"娘, may be used instead of子 in the words above to hint the gender of the child is female. These'd be, artificial readings. For example:In Japanese, there are terms for sons and daughters based their birth order, which are used instead of phrases like "first son," "oldest son," "first daughter," etc. we'd use in English.Normally, the children are counted using numbers and counters.You may have noticed the terms次男 and次女 are not written with thefor "two,"二, and not readandeither. This happens because they second son and daughter are the "next" (after the first) son and daughter, so they're written with thefor "next,"次. They may be written with 二 too, but they'd still be readandThere are synonyms for "first-born" that use thefor the word "long,"長い, because they've been born for the longest time, they're older, the eldest.For the record: theis theforever. Thenever becomes, not even if thedies and thesurpasses him in (living) age. The same applies to the other words.The terms for the "youngest" child in Japanese used thefor the word "end,"末, as they're the last children born and consequently at the end of the offspring list.In some cases, parents may name their sons following a certain custom of adding a suffix according to their birth order. In which case, the name of a person (or anime character) hints whether they're the youngest or have an older brother, etc.For example, in, the name of the sons of main character's family are:, andThis practice is called haikoumei 輩行名 To say husband in Japanese:The word above means "husband" literally. The following words are used when referring to one's husband in person:The wordoriginates from the "lord,"主, of a home, implying the husband, in which case everyone else in that same home serves the lord, the man of the house.Although most people don't really care the term's origins, some of the working women in modern society may be against its usage, as the word seems rather sexist. It always means husband, never wife, implying you can assume the lord of the house is male. The term女主人 exists for female, but that word is not used to say "wife."The term, with the honorific prefix御, would refer to other people's husbands, as it's unusual to use honorifics toward yourself. You don't need to use honorific suffixes () with this word.In anime, the termoften refers to a maid's "master," in other words, the lord of the house where the maid serves. It's also used in similar fashion in other contexts.Thewords are often used more casually thanBesides meaning "husband," the wordmay also refer to the master of a house, like, and sometimes it can also refer to the master (owner) of a shop, so long as he is a man.Besides that,旦那, written as檀那, means "(male) patron," and it's used to refer to male customers of shops. This is similar to how the word "boss" is sometimes used in English to refer to customers, as they're the ones giving the orders.Besides that, too, the origin of旦那 lies in the wordダーナ, loaned from Sanskrit, where it would mean "donation." Basically donation means patron means customers means "boss" means master of the shop means master of the house means husband.Sometimes, words that would usually mean " father " can be used to refer to one's husband.Sometimes, the wordあなた, meaning "you," is used by wives when talking to their husbands. This contrast with the usual way to refer to people in Japanese: normally you wouldn't refer to people by you, anata, kimi , etc. and instead refer to them by their names or title (like their profession, etc.)Note thatis only used when talking to the husband. There's no such thing as "my" meaning my "husband."To say wife in Japanese:Originally,referred to the bride of your son, but nowadays it's also used to refer to your own bride, or your own wife too.The termis normally used to refer to other people's wives, not yours. Although some people use it to refer to their own wife.The following terms feel a bit old, but they also exist:To say bride in Japanese:(note:俺の嫁, "my wife/bride," is the Japanese equivalent of my waifu The words to refer to in-laws are the following:The following words have the "artificial,"義, prefix and have other uses (like adoptive relatives, etc.). But they can be used to refer to in-laws too.Some more words about spouses, marriage, husbands and wives:To say brother in Japanese there are different words depending on whether they're your older brother or younger brother.To say older brother in Japanese:To say younger brother in Japanese:The term弟さん is used when talking about theof someone else.An older brother is just any of your brothers older than you. The eldest brother is specifically called:Conversely, the youngest brother among your siblings is called:To say sister in Japanese there are different words depending on whether they're your older sister or your younger sister.To say older sister in Japanese:To say younger sister in Japanese:Th term妹さん is used when talking about theof someone else.An older sister is just any of your sister older than you. The eldest sister is specifically called:Conversely, the youngest sister among your siblings is called:The words for siblings in Japanese are written with theof the words for brothers and sisters.Sometimes, the wordmay be written with differentdepending on the gender of the siblings, as a, even though the wordsandexist.The word for twins in Japanese is:Terms for "multiple birth,"多胎, of higher numbers include:To say grandfather in Japanese:Sometimes the words above are written with another, for exampleお爺さん. This is usually a way to refer to just any "old man" rather than anyone's actual grandfather. Just like "grandpa" is sometimes used toward elders in English.To say grandmother in Japanese:When written asお婆さん, the word refers to a "old woman" familial relationship. The same as "grandma" is used in English.To say grandchild in Japanese:To say grandparents in Japanese:To say uncle in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "older brother,"兄:To say uncle in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "younger brother,"弟:To say uncle in Japanese, when calling some random old man "uncle" colloquially even though you're not related at all:小父さん.(see 叔父, 伯父, 叔母, 伯母 for details.)To say aunt in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "older sister,"姉:To say aunt in Japanese, when talking about your parent's "younger sister,"妹:The word小母さん may be used colloquially to refer to random old women, family or not.(see 叔父, 伯父, 叔母, 伯母 for details.)To say cousin in Japanese:Just useいとこ or check 従兄弟, 従姉妹, 従兄, 従弟, 従姉, 従妹 for the differences.Your first cousins are the children of the siblings of your parents. Your second cousins are the grandchildren of the siblings of your grandparents, To say second cousin in Japanese:The いとこ part may be written withfollowing the same rules as the wordいとこ, "cousin."The wordis a jukujikun 熟字訓 that somehow managed to be written with 3(はとこ) but 4(再従兄弟). Very exceptional. Anyway, it works the same as its synonyms. You can change the 従兄弟 part in 再従兄弟 depending on the second cousin.To say nephew in Japanese:To say niece in Japanese:Generally speaking,実, "real," implies someone is related by blood, while義 and義理 implies they are not related by blood.For example:And so on. Some examples of the counterpart:By the way,血の繋がり, literally "connection of blood," refers to blood relationships.A number of words for family members have honorifics suffixes that can change betweenand. For example:These words all refer to the same thing regardless of suffix. That is:, andall mean "older brother." Likewise,, andall mean "older sister."The difference between them is in nuance.Thesuffix may be regarded as neutral. Thesuffix is more formal, traditional, respectful, and puts a distance between the speaker and the person they're referring to. Meanwhile, thesuffix is less formal, and more intimate, friendly, chummy instead, implying closeness between the speaker and whom they're referring to.In anime, the suffix used may hint the relationship between the characters and show an aspect of their family.For example: when calling fathers, mothers, older siblings with, it implies respect. This may mean the family places importance in tradition. Like a rich family where children are educated to say "father," and not just "dad," as that may sound ridiculous if heard by others.In some cases, an older brother or sister being called withimplies the younger sibling has excessive admiration for them.On the other side, usingimplies it's a cozier family where rigid norms don't really matter. Toward parents, it may imply a good relationship with them. Or it may imply it's a poor family. Or one from the countryside.(In Rose of The Versailles, one character is ridiculed in a royal court for calling their parent with.)Referring to siblings withimplies the closeness likewise. Sometimes this is done mockingly.A number of Japanese words for family members have versions with and without honorifics. For example:There's no difference between these words in meaning. Bothandmean "father." Bothandmean "mother." The difference betweenandand, etc. is in how they are used.Basically, it follows the golden rule that you don't use honorifics toward yourself, except on a familial level instead.The versions with honorifics,, etc. are used only when talking to someone inside the family, "relatives,"身内, while the versions without honorifics,, etc. are used outside the family, "other people,"他人.For example:Following that, if you're talking about someone else's relatives, you may use honorifics too.For example:This means that, when one character is talking to someone they are not related to,refers to their father, whilerefers to the father of whom they're talking to.Note that to some people mistaking the usage described above makes you look like you weren't properly taught how to use the words. Also note that some peoplemistake how the words are used. And some people do not mind how they are used. So it's a really tricky set of words.Some children use the termsandinstead ofandto refer to their own parents.You might imagine this would only be a trivial fraction of all children, asandare obviously western words, surelyandor something more Japanese-sounding would be more adequate?However, a good portion of the families (39.8% according to the referenced data) have their children useandinside the family, when not talking to people outside the family.Note that the word mama まま also means "the way something is."The termsanddiffer fromandin the way they're used.When you useand, you're talking about what a person, who happens to be a father or a mother, is doing. That is, it's merely a way to refer to them, to describe them. You can replace these words by their names every time and the phrase would still make sense."Mother went to X," for example.Meanwhile,andrefer to parents as parents, acting in their capacity as parents. They can be used, for example, to speak generally: "a mother would do this," or, "mothers do this."Furthermore, there are cases whereandrefer to one's parents, not parents in general. In this case, the terms are used because they feel more general, therefore more distant, and lack the intimate aspect ofandIn other words:andsound too casual when compared toand, so people use thewords instead in situations they want to avoid sounding too cozy.The termsandmean "father" and "mother" respectively. They're used mostly by men, not by women.In anime, characters calling their fathersare common. Some of them have a rebel personality, making the termsound like a disrespectful word. In fact, some people in real life think the term is impolite.That isn't necessarily true. Sure, these terms aren't exactly full of reverence, however, they're often simply the way people end up calling their parents. It doesn't imply they respect them less or more. It can imply they have a closer relationship, maybe, but it would be wrong to assume someone who saysis in bad terms with their father.Sometimes, suffixes are added to the words:親父さん,お袋さん. The contractionおやっさん also exists.There are some Japanese terms for family members that end in上. They're simply the non-version withadded to it.The words above infer reverence, as上 means above. So they're generally used toward seniors. The words for son, daughter and younger brother, younger sister do not have上 versions.The difference betweenandand, etc. is in how they're used. There's no difference in meaning. Bothandmean "father," and so on.The words with. They were more common in theera (before 1912). Nowadaysand the other non-words are used more instead.So if you have to choose, choose the words withoutIn writing, thewords may still be used, just not in speech. Also note that some families still prefer to use thewords instead, but that's just some particular cases and not the general situation.In anime, fiction, etc., specially theater pieces, the usage ofindicates the character comes from a very traditional family, or that they're somehow anachronistic. Like they time-traveled to or from theera or something.The words, also read, and, are ways to refer with reverence to a father and a mother.These words are likeand: they're rather old, they aren't used much in speech, and they are found more in writing.One difference, however, is thatandare used to refer to your own parents, whileandare used to refer to someone else's parents.The wordsandare just likeand, used to refer to other people's parents, mainly used in writing, except the terms feel a bit older-fashioned.The wordis also read asThe wordsand andare mainly used to refer to the parents of whom you're talking. These are also words of reverence, and also used more in writing.The words, andare katakanizations of the English words "mother," "father," "sister," and "brother."Although these words aren't really used in real life to refer to people's family, they're often seen in loaned words that make use of them, like "motherboard," for example.More often, these words refer to another type of relationship. For example,can refer to a "nun," like "sister" sometimes does in English.In anime, there are cases where characters may call their family by these words but that's just anime being anime.The wordsandrefer to a brother and a sister respectively. These words are likeand, they refer to them with reverence, except they are still used in speech to this day.The reason for this is probably thatandare sometimes used to refer not to one's real brother, but just to an older guy or girl whom they respect. That is: it's basically, the "bro" version, and its female counterpart.In particular, in anime it's common for gang members to call their boss, even if that boss is just a middle-management kinda boss and he has a bossier gang boss himself. Likewise, girl gangs would useThe wordsandare words used in the past to refer to the "older brother" and "older sister" respectively. They aren't used in modern speech, but you may see it in songs, anime, manga, etc.They're abbreviations of兄者人 and姉者人.Since these words infer reverence to whom they refer to, they exist only for the seniors, the older brother and older sister.Words such弟者, which would be the "younger brother" variant,whenandwere in use,. Instead, it's possible they were made up in modern times. Remember:andare still used in fiction, music, etc. today. So someone, knowingwas a word, figuredwould be a word too.The termsandare two separate words that have similar usage. They refer to someone else's son and daughter respectively, and they're used in reverence.The origin ofseems to come from "Buddhist priests,"坊主. Because of their iconic crew cut hairstyle, the term "head,"坊主頭, even came to mean that. And young boys, who had such hairstyle, ended up being calledaffectionately.This is why, with the affectionate, often refers to the son of someone, while, with a simple, rather refers to a Buddhist priest.The word, on the other hand, normally refers to someone's daughter, simply put. But it can be used in other ways too.For example, sometimesrefers to a young woman whose name is unknown.Because the termsandrefer to children but have honorifics, they've come to be associated with children of rich families. After all, among lesser enriched families people wouldn't waste time with such pleasantries.In anime, it's often butlers, maids, etc. that call the children of their masters these words:Since these terms are associated with rich children, it's sometimes the case of saying someone is anorif they appear to be from a rich family. In this case you aren't really saying "son" or "daughter," it's more like a slang that implies they're snobby, or have a different social position, tastes, etc.The termsare used to refer to a grandfather and a grandmother respectively. The termsじい andじいじ are distortions ofじじ, whileばあば is a distortion ofばば.These terms are usually associated with children, who eventually stop using these words and start saying something else when they grow up. This isn't always the case, however, as there are adults who use them too.Some people consider these terms a bit rude, believingandshould be used instead.Historically, Japan has a system where the one true heir of a given family is usually be the "oldest son,"長男, the "first-born son,"一男.Since this heir would inherit everything of the family, the family business, firms, heirlooms, cursed swords with demons sealed inside, houses, properties, style of martial arts, assets, etc. the heir would probably have to stay home learning about his ancestry and the techniques that have been passed down his family line for generations.Meanwhile, the daughters and the younger sons would go away and get married off into other families.Because of this, there's a practice of calling the heirs of the family line "inside,"内, since they stay inside the family, and those that marriedthe family "outside,"外, since they come from outside the family. This can be seen in the following words:The easiest way to tell these apart is the surname, orIf your grandparent had to changed their family name to yours, they're from "outside" and entered the family. If your grandchild has a different surname than yours, they've left your family and gone "outside."Generally speaking, the child of your son is "inside" while the child of your daughter is "outside."An exception happens when a婿養子 is involved, which is a husband that takes the wife's family name. If your son is a, he changed his family name, so his child is going to be "outside" your family. Conversely, if your daughter marries a, she keeps your family name, so her child would be "inside" your family.The practice of calling heirs this way has fallen out of usage since World War II, probably because it became less relevant in modern times. Because of this, not everyone knows the words' original meanings.Instead, they'll assume aalways means thegrandfather, as it normally means that, even though there's a possibility that's not the case.For example, if your father is, thenwould be yourgrandfather, because your mother kept her family name. Since you inherited the family name from your mother, you were born "inside" your mother's family, and "outside" your father's family. Consequently, your mother parents are "inside" and your father parents "outside."In Japanese, the words "uncle,", "aunt,", and their derivatives may be written with different kanji : 伯父 and 叔父 for, 伯母 and 叔母 forThe difference between 伯父 and 叔父 is that 伯父 is your "mother or father's older brother,"父母の兄, while 叔父 is your "mother or father's younger brother,"父母の弟.Likewise, the difference between 伯母 and 叔母 is that 伯母 is your "mother or father's older sister,"父母の姉, while 叔母 is your "mother or father's younger sister,"父母の妹.The truth is there aren't Japanese words for your "parent's younger brother" and for your "parent's older brother." There's only one single word for both cases:, your "parent's brother."The reason it gets written differently according to the seniority is becausewere imported from China, and in the Chinese language (I guess) there's one word for the younger brother uncle and one word for the older brother uncle.So Chinese had four words while Japanese only has two,and. This mismatch is why there are extra ways to write the same Japanese word and those extra ways bear different meaning according to their Chinese origins.The word for cousin in Japanese,いとこ, may be written with different kanji depending on what it refers to.When written with just thefor older brother, younger brother, older sister, or younger sister, it implies the gender and age of the cousin in question. In this case, the age refers to whether the cousin is older or younger than you (or if you say X's cousin, older or younger than X.)Thosecan be combined, just like in the words "brothers,"兄妹, or "sisters,"姉妹, in which case it refers to:The reason why the wordwords this way is because in Chinese there are actually different words depending on the cousin and thecombinations stem from how those words are written in hanzi..Basically, there's just one common Japanese word,, for all those Chinese counterparts, which is why itoko becomes gikunSometimes those words can get read withinstead, changing depending on the, for example:

        Posted by
        at 3:06 PM

        Post a Comment Blogger Disqus

        Post a Comment

        Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
         
        Top