Talking About Your Family

Japanese Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 5 · Talking About Your Family

👪 Talking About Your Family — かぞく

Talking about family is one of the most common topics for beginners, and it introduces one of the most important ideas in Japanese: different words for your family and for someone else's. You'll also learn to count people. Romaji is shown under every line of Japanese.

① How Many in Your Family? — かぞくはなんにん？

A: ごかぞくはなんにんですか。 Gokazoku wa nannin desu ka. How many people are in your family?

B: ごにんです。ちちとははとあにといもうと、それからわたしです。 Gonin desu. Chichi to haha to ani to imōto, sorekara watashi desu. Five. My father, mother, older brother, younger sister, and me.

② Brothers and Sisters — きょうだい

A: きょうだいがいますか。 Kyōdai ga imasu ka. Do you have brothers or sisters?

B: はい、あにがひとりいます。 Hai, ani ga hitori imasu. Yes, I have one older brother.

A: おにいさんはおいくつですか。 Oniisan wa oikutsu desu ka. How old is your brother?

B: さんじゅっさいです。 Sanjussai desu. He's thirty.

③ An Only Child — ひとりっこ

A: きょうだいがいますか。 Kyōdai ga imasu ka. Do you have brothers or sisters?

B: いいえ、ひとりっこです。 Iie, hitorikko desu. No, I'm an only child.

A: そうですか。 Sō desu ka. I see.

④ Asking After Someone's Parents — ごりょうしん

A: たなかさんのおかあさんはおげんきですか。 Tanaka-san no okāsan wa ogenki desu ka. Tanaka-san, is your mother well?

B: はい、ははもちちもげんきです。 Hai, haha mo chichi mo genki desu. Yes, my mother and father are both well.

A: それはよかったです。 Sore wa yokatta desu. That's good to hear.

⑤ Showing a Photo — しゃしん

A: これはわたしのかぞくです。 Kore wa watashi no kazoku desu. This is my family.

B: かわいいいもうとさんですね。 Kawaii imōtosan desu ne. What a cute younger sister.

A: ありがとうございます。いもうとはじゅうごさいです。 Arigatō gozaimasu. Imōto wa jūgosai desu. Thank you. My sister is fifteen.

⑥ Pets — ペット

A: ペットがいますか。 Petto ga imasu ka. Do you have a pet?

B: はい、ねこがいます。 Hai, neko ga imasu. Yes, I have a cat.

A: かわいいですね。 Kawaii desu ne. How cute.

👪 Your Family and Other People's — うちとそと

Japanese has two sets of family words. For your own family you use plain, humble words (はは, ちち). For someone else's family you use respectful words (おかあさん, おとうさん). Mixing them up is a very common beginner mistake.

Meaning	My own family (humble)	Someone else's (honorific)
mother	はは haha	おかあさん okāsan
father	ちち chichi	おとうさん otōsan
parents	りょうしん ryōshin	ごりょうしん goryōshin
older brother	あに ani	おにいさん oniisan
older sister	あね ane	おねえさん onēsan
younger brother	おとうと otōto	おとうとさん otōtosan
younger sister	いもうと imōto	いもうとさん imōtosan
siblings	きょうだい kyōdai	ごきょうだい gokyōdai
grandmother	そぼ sobo	おばあさん obāsan
grandfather	そふ sofu	おじいさん ojiisan
child	こども kodomo	おこさん okosan
husband	おっと otto	ごしゅじん goshujin
wife	つま tsuma	おくさん okusan
family	かぞく kazoku	ごかぞく gokazoku

The Rule Speaking to other people about your own mother: はは. Asking about their mother: おかあさん. When you speak directly to your own mother at home, you can call her おかあさん, since you are addressing her. The humble words are for describing your family to an outsider.

🔢 Counting People — 〜にん

People are counted with にん, except for one and two, which have their own words.

People	Japanese	Notes
1	ひとり hitori	special word
2	ふたり futari	special word
3	さんにん sannin	number + にん
4	よにん yonin	よ, not よん
5	ごにん gonin
6	ろくにん rokunin
7	ななにん / しちにん nananin / shichinin
8	はちにん hachinin
9	きゅうにん kyūnin
10	じゅうにん jūnin
how many?	なんにん nannin	used to ask: なんにんですか

🗣️ Key Patterns — ぶんけい

Say this	Japanese	Meaning
かぞくは〜にんです kazoku wa … nin desu	かぞくはごにんです。 Kazoku wa gonin desu.	My family is five people.
〜がいます … ga imasu	あにがいます。 Ani ga imasu.	I have an older brother.
〜がいません … ga imasen	いもうとはいません。 Imōto wa imasen.	I don't have a younger sister.
ひとりっこです hitorikko desu	ひとりっこです。 Hitorikko desu.	I'm an only child.

🔤 Three More Verbs — どうし

Verb	Present (polite)	Negative	Past
to be; to have (people, animals)	います imasu	いません imasen	いました imashita
to be; to have (things)	あります arimasu	ありません arimasen	ありました arimashita
to get married (けっこんする)	けっこんします kekkon shimasu	けっこんしません kekkon shimasen	けっこんしました kekkon shimashita

います and あります Japanese has two verbs for "there is / I have". います is for people and animals (things that move), and あります is for things. So きょうだいがいます (siblings, people) but ペンがあります (a pen, a thing). The particle が marks what exists.

📖 Vocabulary — ごい

20 key words. Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji.

#	Japanese	Romaji	English	Type
1	かぞく	kazoku	family	noun
2	ごかぞく	gokazoku	your family (polite)	noun
3	りょうしん	ryōshin	parents	noun
4	はは	haha	my mother	noun
5	ちち	chichi	my father	noun
6	おかあさん	okāsan	mother (yours; someone's)	noun
7	おとうさん	otōsan	father (yours; someone's)	noun
8	あに	ani	my older brother	noun
9	あね	ane	my older sister	noun
10	おとうと	otōto	my younger brother	noun
11	いもうと	imōto	my younger sister	noun
12	きょうだい	kyōdai	brothers and sisters	noun
13	ひとりっこ	hitorikko	only child	noun
14	こども	kodomo	child; children	noun
15	ひとり	hitori	one person	noun
16	ふたり	futari	two people	noun
17	にん	-nin	people (counter)	noun
18	います	imasu	there is; to have (people)	verb
19	ペット	petto	pet	noun
20	かわいい	kawaii	cute	adj

Real Japanese Tip — Inside and Outside (うちとそと) The two family-word sets reflect an idea that runs through Japanese: the inside group (うち: you, your family, your company) and the outside group (そと: everyone else). You lower your own side and raise the other person's. It's why you say はははげんきです about your own mother but おかあさんはおげんきですか about theirs.

おにいさん and おねえさん for Strangers おにいさん and おねえさん aren't only for siblings: shop and restaurant staff use them to address a young man or woman politely ("Excuse me, sir / miss"), and customers often call a young waiter おにいさん to get his attention. Likewise おじさん and おばさん are used for middle-aged strangers, though with care.

Counting 4 Is Irregular For people, 4 is よにん, not よんにん. If you can only remember two special cases, remember ひとり and ふたり: you'll use them constantly, for example when you reserve a table: ふたりです, "two people".

Kanji Spotlight — 父母子父 (chichi, fu) is father, 母 (haha, bo) is mother and 子 (ko, shi) is child: the three kanji of the family. In the word おかあさん they appear as お母さん. Have a look at them: 父 ▸ · 母 ▸ · 子 ▸

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say "My mother is well."

Show answer

はははげんきです。

2. Ask politely whether someone's father is well.

Show answer

おとうさんはおげんきですか。

3. Say "I have an older brother" and "I'm an only child".

Show answer

あにがいます。 · ひとりっこです。

4. How do you ask "How many people are in your family?"

Show answer

ごかぞくはなんにんですか。

5. Say "My family is four people" (careful with 4).

Show answer

かぞくはよにんです。 (yonin, not yonnin)

6. Which verb do you use for "I have a cat", います or あります? Why?

Show answer

います, because a cat is an animal (something that moves).

Coming Up in Chapter 6 Talking about your job: しごと, かいしゃ, 〜ではたらいています and the katakana job words (エンジニア, サポート …). Plus the little particle の, meaning "of".

Talking About Your Family