by Tomoyuki Higuchi
How do you say “family” in Japanese?
Here is a list of family members in Japanese.
family 家族
家族 kazoku
father お父さん
お父さん otousan* OR パパ papa
*We pronounce like “otōsan”.
mother お母さん
お母さん okaasan* OR ママ mama
*We pronounce like “okāsan”.
“パパ (papa)” and “ママ (mama)” sound a bit childish.
brother 兄弟
兄弟 kyoudai*
*We pronounce like “kyōdai”.
older brother
➜
兄 ani
younger brother
➜
弟 otouto
sister 姉妹
姉妹 shimai
older sister
➜
姉 ane
younger sister
➜
妹 imouto
grandfather おじいちゃん
おじいちゃん ojiichan*
*We pronounce like “ojīchan”.
grandmother おばあちゃん
おばあちゃん obaachan
*We pronounce like “obāchan”.
husband 夫
夫 otto
wife 妻
妻 tsuma
son 息子
息子 musuko
daughter 娘
娘 musume
uncle おじ
おじ oji
aunt おば
おば oba