The terms for your family in Japanese—or kazoku (家族)—are different depending on whose relative you’re talking about, or how close you are. English is the same way: mom, mama, mommy, mother…there are many words to refer to one family member. Just as you can identify the nuances between similar English terms, this guide will show you how to differentiate the various names for each member of the family in Japanese.
The words you use to talk about your own family versus the family members of other people differ in Japanese, and choosing the right term for stylistic purposes (like tattoos) can be a challenge. Keep these terms in mind when talking about family in Japanese to avoid accidental miscommunication!
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How to say ‘family’ in Japanese
The word for “family” in Japanese is kazoku (家族). Generally speaking, kazoku refers to the family that you live with or that you have lived with in the past. This could be your parents and siblings, or perhaps your spouse and children, or maybe your grandparents.
For other members of your family that don’t live with you (such as aunts and uncles), the more appropriate word is shinseki (親戚), which is similar to “relatives.”
However, when talking to another person about their family, it’s polite to use the word gokazoku (ご家族) instead of kazoku. The prefix go (ご or 御) comes from a type of keigo (honorific Japanese language) that adds a layer of formality and respect to a word. The difference is slight, but using the correct term makes a good impression.
For example, when talking about your family:
- Watashi no kazoku wa nanjū nen mo koko ni sunde imasu.（私の家族は何十年もここに住んでいます。）= My family has been living here for many years.
Compare that to questions about another person’s family:
- Gokazoku wa koko ni dono kurai sunde imasu ka.（ご家族はここにどのくらい住んでいますか。）= How long has your family been living here?
Names for family in Japanese
Just like the difference between kazoku and gokazoku, the Japanese language terms you use to refer to your own family members are often different from those you use for someone else’s family members.
Also, remember that Japanese generally doesn’t pluralize words, so the words for family members are the same whether it’s one person or multiple.
What to call your family members
When talking about your own family, the words in this chart are the standard terminology. Keep in mind that what you call them in person might be different than how you describe them to another person (as in “Mom, are you coming?” vs. “my mother is coming”).
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 母 | haha | hah-hah | mother |
| 父 | chichi | chee-chee | father |
| 両親 | ryōshin | ryoh-sheen | parents |
| 姉 | ane | ah-neh | older sister |
| 兄 | ani | ah-nee | older brother |
| 妹 | imōto | ee-moh-toh | younger sister |
| 弟 | otōto | oh-toh-toh | younger brother |
| 兄弟 | kyōdai | kyoh-dai | brothers; siblings (mixed genders) |
| 姉妹 | shimai | shee-mah-ee | sisters |
| 娘 | musume | moo-soo-meh | daughter |
| 息子 | musuko | moo-soo-koh | son |
| 子・子供 | ko/kodomo | koh/koh-doh-moh | child; children |
| 妻 | tsuma | tsoo-mah | wife |
| 夫 | otto | oht-toh | husband |
| 祖母 | sobo | soh-boh | grandmother |
| 祖父 | sofu | soh-foo | grandfather |
| 孫 | mago | mah-goh | grandchild; grandchildren |
| 叔母・伯母 | oba | oh-bah | aunt |
| 叔父・伯父 | oji | oh-jee | uncle |
| いとこ | itoko | ee-toh-koh | cousin |
If you have an interest in using Japanese writing for artistic purposes (like tattoos) the words in the table above are ideal, regardless of whose family member is being referred to.
This is because they’re written exclusively with Japanese kanji (with the exception of “cousin”), which are borrowed Chinese characters. They contain the entire meaning of a word within one or two complex characters, without adding either of the Japanese phonetic alphabets to the mix.
What to call members of someone else’s family
Most of the family terms for someone else’s family use the exact same kanji as the terms for your own family, just with different pronunciations. The kanji that means “mother” (母) is found in both haha (母) and okāsan (お母さん). You’ll also notice the addition of the respectful suffix san, one of the standard Japanese honorifics.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| お母さん | okāsan | oh-kah-sahn | mother |
| お父さん | otōsan | oh-toh-sahn | father |
| ご両親 | goryōshin | goh-ryoh-sheen | parents |
| お姉さん | onēsan | oh-neh-sahn | older sister |
| お兄さん | onīsan | oh-nee-sahn | older brother |
| 妹さん | imōtosan | ee-moh-toh-sahn | younger sister |
| 弟さん | otōtosan | oh-toh-toh-sahn | younger brother |
| ご兄弟 | gokyōdai | goh-kyoh-dai | brothers; siblings (mixed genders) |
| ご姉妹 | goshimai | goh-shee-mah-ee | sisters |
| 娘さん | musumesan | moo-soo-meh-sahn | daughter |
| 息子さん | musukosan | moo-soo-koh-sahn | son |
| お子さん・子供 | okosan/kodomo | oh-koh-sahn/koh-doh-moh | child; children |
| 奥さん | okusan | oh-koo-sahn | wife |
| ご主人 | goshujin | goh-shu-jin | husband |
| おばあさん | obāsan | oh-baah-sahn | grandma |
| おじいさん | ojīsan | oh-jeee-sahn | grandpa |
| お孫さん | omagosan | oh-mah-goh-sahn | grandchild; grandchildren |
| 叔母さん・伯母さん | obasan | oh-bah-sahn | aunt |
| 叔父さん・伯父さん | ojisan | oh-jee-sahn | uncle |
| いとこ | itoko | ee-toh-koh | cousin |
Choosing the correct term for family members
The terms you use for family in Japanese are based on the level of respect (or humility) you intend to show. This is based on a concept called uchi-soto (内外), which means “inside-outside.” Put simply, it dictates who you consider your “in-group” (who you should be humble about) and your “out-group” (who you should be respectful toward).
When talking to a person in the “out-group” about family, the idea is that you want to be respectful about their family and humble about yours. Consider a situation where you’re talking to your boss about Mother’s Day. When talking about your own mother, you would refer to her as haha, while you would ask your boss about their okāsan.
When talking to someone within your own family, the inside-outside dynamic changes to make only you the “in-group” and everyone else in the family the “out-group.” As a result, what you call your family members shifts. Instead of haha, it’s more likely that you would call your mom okāsan or a casual variant.
More words for family relationships
Japanese has specific terms for referring to each member of the family, but what you call them to their faces might be different. Look for the words that suit your family and the relationship you have with them.
Parents
Rather than haha and chichi, it’s more common to call your parents okāsan and otōsan. A survey of over 1,600 Japanese children showed that the most popular names for their guardians were mama (ママ) or okāsan for their moms and papa (パパ) or otōsan for their dads.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| お母さん | okāsan | oh-kah-sahn | mom |
| お父さん | otōsan | oh-toh-sahn | dad |
| かあちゃん | kaachan | kah-chahn | mommy |
| とうちゃん | touchan | toh-chahn | daddy |
| ママ | mama | mah-mah | mama |
| パパ | papa | pah-pah | papa |
Some parents may even choose to call each other okāsan or otōsan instead of their names or nicknames because of how their role in the family shifted when a child entered the family.
Siblings
Siblings often call each other by name (or nickname), but they might also refer to each other by their relationship, especially from a younger sibling to an older sibling.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| お姉さん | onēsan | oh-neh-sahn | sister (older) |
| お兄さん | onīsan | oh-nee-sahn | brother (older) |
| 姉さん | nēsan | neh-sahn | sister (older) (more casual) |
| 兄さん | nīsan | nee-sahn | brother (older) (more casual) |
| お姉ちゃん | onēchan | oh-neh-chahn | sis (older) |
| お兄ちゃん | onīchan | oh-nee-chahn | bro (older) |
| 姉ちゃん | nēchan | neh-chahn | sis (older) (more casual) |
| 兄ちゃん | nīchan | nee-chahn | bro (older) (more casual) |
For example, a girl may call their younger sister by their name (possibly with the cute suffix chan), while the younger sister may call their older sister onēchan.
- Onēchan, kite kite!（お姉ちゃん、来て来て！）= Sis, c’mere, c’mere!
- Nani, Keiko chan?（何、けいこちゃん？）= What is it, Keiko?
Grandparents
Following the trend, you can call your grandparents obāsan (grandma) and ojīsan (grandpa). However, there are also more affectionate terms. A survey of almost 200 Japanese grandparents with elementary-aged children showed that these were the most popular choices of name.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| ばあば | bāba | baah-bah | granny |
| じいじ | jīji | jeee-jee | gramps |
| おばあちゃん | obāchan | oh-baah-chahn | grandma (casual) |
| おじいちゃん | ojīchan | oh-jeee-chahn | grandpa (casual) |
How to talk about family in conversation
Words for family members in Japanese are nouns (or proper nouns), so they slot into sentences following Japanese word order accordingly. Use these example sentences to help you introduce family, talk about the people in your family, and more.
Introducing family members
Introducing someone to your family members is simple. Follow this formula to talk about anyone in your family.
- Watashi no [family member] desu.（私の［family member］です。）= This is my [family member].
Fill in the blank to complete the sentence. You can also swap watashi for another one of the Japanese pronouns for “I,” like boku (ぼく).
- Watashi no musume desu.（私の娘です。）= This is my daughter.
- Boku no imōto desu.（ぼくの妹です。）= This is my younger sister.
Describing family composition
To talk about how many members you have in your family, you’ll need to use the Japanese counter for people: ~nin (～人). Start by following this formula:
- [I/we] niwa [family member] ga [quantity] imasu.（[I/we] には [family member] が [quantity] います。）= I/we have [quantity] [family member].
From there, you can add in what information is relevant to you.
- Watashi tachi niwa musume ga yonin imasu.（私たちには娘が四人います。）= We have four daughters.
If you want to talk about multiple types of family members (such as sons and daughters), you’ll add in the Japanese particle to (と) for “and” between members.
- Watashi tachi niwa musuko ga hitori to musume ga sannin imasu.（私たちには息子が一人と娘が三人います。）= We have one son and three daughters.
Adding optional pluralization
You can add the optional suffix tachi (たち or 達) to a noun to make it specifically plural, although Japanese generally doesn’t use plurals in the same way that English does. Usually, it’s clear from context whether there’s one or multiple items in question, or you can add an exact number or one of the Japanese adverbs that talk about quantity.
In terms of family members, it’s common to add tachi after the word kodomo (child) to make it clear that there are multiple children.
- Kodomo wa hashitte imasu.（子供は走っています。）= The child is running.
- Kodomo tachi wa hashitte imasu.（子供たちは走っています。）= The children are running.
Expressing affection
Compared to the United States, it’s uncommon in Japan to directly tell family members that you love them, even if you love them very much. However, it’s still important to know how to say “I love you” in Japanese, or that you love a member of your family, with the word daisuki (大好き).
- Boku wa ojīsan ga daisuki desu.（ぼくはおじいさんが大好きです。）= I love my grandfather.
Frequently asked questions about family in Japanese
Learning how to talk about family in Japanese has more layers than other languages—after all, you need to learn different words to talk about your family and about other people’s family.
However, it’s a great set of vocabulary to start with if you want to learn Japanese. Family vocabulary teaches you language as well as culture, as these frequently asked questions demonstrate.
What is the Japanese word for ‘family’?
The word for “family” in Japanese is kazoku (家族), which refers to the family that you live with or have lived with in the past. You can use shinseki (親戚) to refer to other relatives. If you’re talking to someone else about their family, it’s respectful to say gokazoku (ご家族) instead of kazoku.
What does gokazoku mean?
Gokazoku (ご家族) is a respectful term in Japanese for another person’s family. It combines the respectful prefix go (ご or 御) with the general word for “family,” kazoku (家族).
Is it otōsan or chichi?
Both otōsan and chichi mean “father,” but they’re different ways of referring to a father. Chichi is how you would talk about your father (“My father is Japanese.”), and otōsan could either be what you call your father (“Dad, what’s for dinner?) or how you refer to another person’s father (“What does your father do?”).
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