Learn basic Japanese vocabulary for family members
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
| お母さん (o-kā-san) |
| お兄さん (o-nii-san) |
| お姉さん (o-nee-san) |
| What do these words mean? Stick around. |
| In this quick lesson, you’ll learn Japanese vocabulary for family members. |
| Before we start, in Japan, do you know there's a respectful way to address adults using family terms? Can you guess what to call someone younger or older than you? |
| Keep watching for the answer at the end. |
| お父さん (o-tō-san) |
| "father" |
| [SLOW] お父さん (o-tō-san) |
| お父さん (o-tō-san) |
| There are several ways to say “father” in Japanese. |
| Let’s look at a few examples. |
| 父 (chichi): formal, for talking about your father to others. |
| パパ (papa): casual and cute, mostly kids, sometimes adults. |
| 親父 (oyaji): masculine and rough, used casually by men. |
| Jack talks to Steve about his neighbors. |
| Jack: 今日、ご近所さんを見ました。お父さんは家を掃除していました。 (Kyō, go-kinjo-san o mimashita. O-tō-san wa ie o sōji shite imashita.) |
| Steve: 家事を手伝うのはいいことですね。 (Kaji o tetsudau no wa ii koto desu ne.) |
| お母さん (o-kā-san) |
| "mother" |
| [SLOW] お母さん (o-kā-san) |
| お母さん (o-kā-san) |
| 母 (haha) is the more formal word — mostly used in writing or when talking about your mother to someone else. |
| ママ (mama) is casual and friendly — kids often say it, and some adults use it too in a warm or affectionate way. |
| お袋 (ofukuro) is old-fashioned and a bit rough — it’s mostly used by older men when talking about their mother. |
| Steve talks to Jack about his friend. |
| Steve: 彼のお母さんは今週、休みを取っています。 (Kare no o-kā-san wa konshū, yasumi o totte imasu.) |
| Jack: いいですね。みんなリラックスする時間が必要です。 (Ii desu ne. Minna rirakkusu suru jikan ga hitsuyō desu.) |
| お兄さん (o-nii-san) |
| "older brother" |
| [SLOW] お兄さん (o-nii-san) |
| お兄さん (o-nii-san) |
| People usually call their own older brother お兄ちゃん (oniichan). |
| お兄さん (oniisan) is more polite, or used when talking about someone else’s older brother. |
| Emily tells Oscar about a family she met on an airplane. |
| Emily: 家への飛行機で、隣の女の子と話しました。彼女のお兄さんは宿題をしていました。 (Ie e no hikōki de, tonari no onna no ko to hanashimashita. Kanojo no o-nii-san wa shukudai o shite imashita.) |
| Oscar: 一生懸命勉強するのは大切ですね。 (Isshōkenmei benkyō suru no wa taisetsu desu ne.) |
| お姉さん (o-nee-san) |
| "older sister" |
| [SLOW] お姉さん (o-nee-san) |
| お姉さん (o-nee-san) |
| People usually call their own older sister お姉ちゃん (oneechan) |
| お姉さん (oneesan) is more polite, or used when talking about someone else’s older sister. |
| Lina tells Susan about a family she saw at the park. |
| Lina: 公園で小さい女の子とお姉さんが自転車に乗っているのを見ました。 (Kōen de chiisai onna no ko to o-nee-san ga jitensha ni notte iru no o mimashita.) |
| Susan: 一緒に自転車に乗るのは楽しいですよね。 (Issho ni jitensha ni noru no wa tanoshii desu yo ne.) |
| 弟さん (otōto-san) |
| "younger brother" |
| [SLOW] 弟さん (otōto-san) |
| 弟さん (otōto-san) |
| People usually call their own younger brother by his name. |
| 弟さん (otoutosan) is more polite, and used when talking about someone else’s younger brother. |
| Oscar tells Emily about a family photo shoot. |
| Oscar: 写真撮影の間、男の子と弟さんはおもちゃで遊んでいました。 (Shashin satsuei no aida, otoko no ko to otōto-san wa omocha de asonde imashita.) |
| Emily: 子供はかわいいですね！ (Kodomo wa kawaii desu ne!) |
| 妹さん (imōto-san) |
| "younger sister" |
| [SLOW] 妹さん (imōto-san) |
| 妹さん (imōto-san) |
| Same as a younger brother, when you talk to your younger sister, you usually just use her name. |
| 妹さん (imoutosan) is polite and used when talking about someone else’s younger sister. |
| Emily tells Oscar about a family she saw at the park. |
| Emily: 公園で女の子を見ました。妹さんは彼女のために歌を歌っていました。 (Kōen de onna no ko o mimashita. Imōto-san wa kanojo no tame ni uta o utatte imashita.) |
| Oscar: きっと音楽が大好きなんですね。 (Kitto ongaku ga daisuki nan desu ne.) |
| 息子さん (musuko-san) |
| "son" |
| [SLOW] 息子さん (musuko-san) |
| 息子さん (musuko-san) |
| 息子さん: you use this politely when talking about someone else’s son. |
| 息子: this is how you talk about your own son, like “うちの息子” (my son). |
| Lina talks to Susan about her neighbors. |
| Lina: ご近所さんはプールにいます。息子さんは泳いでいます。 (Go-kinjo-san wa pūru ni imasu. Musuko-san wa oyoide imasu.) |
| Susan: 水泳は子供にとっていい運動ですね。 (Suiei wa kodomo ni totte ii undō desu ne.) |
| 奥さん (oku-san) |
| "wife" |
| [SLOW] 奥さん (oku-san) |
| 奥さん (oku-san) |
| 奥さん is used when talking about someone else’s wife. |
| When you talk about your own wife, you can say 私の妻 (“my wife”) or 家内, which is a bit more old-fashioned or formal. |
| Steve chats with Jack about a colleague's family. |
| Steve: ジョンが家族の話をしていました。奥さんは弁護士だそうですよ。 (Jon ga kazoku no hanashi o shite imashita. Oku-san wa bengoshi da sō desu yo.) |
| Jack: すごいですね。 (Sugoi desu ne.) |
| 娘さん (musume-san) |
| "daughter" |
| [SLOW] 娘さん (musume-san) |
| 娘さん (musume-san) |
| When you talk about your own daughter, you can just say 娘 (musume) or just her name. |
| Jack chats with Steve about his friend's family. |
| Jack: 友達の家族は嬉しそうです。娘さんがもうすぐ学校に入るそうです。 (Tomodachi no kazoku wa ureshisō desu. Musume-san ga mōsugu gakkō ni hairu sō desu.) |
| Steve: 大きな一歩ですね！ (Ōkina ippo desu ne!) |
| ご主人 (go-shujin) |
| "husband" |
| [SLOW] ご主人 (go-shujin) |
| ご主人 (go-shujin) |
| You can use 主人 or 夫 referring to your husband. |
| Oscar talks to Emily about his friend. |
| Oscar: 友達のご主人が新しい車を買うって言ってました。 (Tomodachi no go-shujin ga atarashii kuruma o kau tte itte mashita.) |
| Emily: 新しい車はいいですね！ (Atarashii kuruma wa ii desu ne!) |
| 家族 (kazoku) |
| "family" |
| [SLOW] 家族 (kazoku) |
| 家族 (kazoku) |
| How many people are in your family? 何人家族ですか？ |
| Susan tells Lina about her weekend plans. |
| Susan: 明日、家族でピクニックに行きます。 (Ashita, kazoku de pikunikku ni ikimasu.) |
| Lina: ピクニックはとても楽しいですよね。行ってらっしゃい！ (Pikunikku wa totemo tanoshii desu yo ne. Itterasshai!) |
| Let's review. |
| You'll see the words in English and your job is to say the words in Japanese. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "father"? |
| お父さん (o-tō-san) |
| お父さん (o-tō-san) |
| And how to say "mother"? |
| お母さん (o-kā-san) |
| お母さん (o-kā-san) |
| How about "older brother"? |
| お兄さん (o-nii-san) |
| お兄さん (o-nii-san) |
| Do you remember how to say "older sister"? |
| お姉さん (o-nee-san) |
| お姉さん (o-nee-san) |
| And how to say "younger brother"? |
| 弟さん (otōto-san) |
| 弟さん (otōto-san) |
| Let's try "younger sister"! |
| 妹さん (imōto-san) |
| 妹さん (imōto-san) |
| What about "son"? |
| 息子さん (musuko-san) |
| 息子さん (musuko-san) |
| Now, let's see if you remember how to say "wife"! |
| 奥さん (oku-san) |
| 奥さん (oku-san) |
| Another one! What about "daughter"? |
| 娘さん (musume-san) |
| 娘さん (musume-san) |
| Do you remember how to say "husband"? |
| ご主人 (go-shujin) |
| ご主人 (go-shujin) |
| And finally, do you remember how to say "family"? |
| 家族 (kazoku) |
| 家族 (kazoku) |
| In Japan, do you know there's a respectful way to address adults using family terms? Can you guess what to call someone younger or older than you? |
| In Japan, when you don't know someone's name, you can use family-like terms to show respect. |
| If the person is younger, you might call them "o-nee-san" (older sister) or "o-nii-san" (older brother). |
| If they are older, you can say "o-kā-san" (mother) or "o-tō-san" (father). |
| Thanks for watching! Don't forget to practice these new words and phrases, and see you next time! |
Comments
Hide