Vocabulary · 8 min
Family and people
Talk simply about yourself, friends, and family.
- Recognize the main idea in family and people.
- Use one clear example before you begin the quiz.
- Build confidence with a small, repeatable step.
Family words often change slightly depending on whether you speak about your own family or someone else's.
Start with familiar words
ともだち is friend, かぞく is family, and きょうだい is siblings.
Keep it simple
Use の to connect a person to a group: わたしのともだち means my friend.
Study these forms
Study the Japanese form together with its English meaning. Read the word aloud, then use the two directions of practice to check recognition and recall. かぞく (family) · ともだち (friend) · きょうだい (siblings) · おかあさん (mother of someone else) · おとうさん (father of someone else) · はは (my mother) · ちち (my father) · あに (my older brother) · あね (my older sister) · おにいさん (older brother of someone else) · おねえさん (older sister of someone else) · おとうと (younger brother) · いもうと (younger sister) · そふ (grandfather in own family) · そぼ (grandmother in own family) · おじいさん (grandfather of someone else) · おばあさん (grandmother of someone else) · おっと (my husband) · つま (my wife) · こども (child) · あかちゃん (baby) · りょうしん (parents) · ひと (person) · せんせい (teacher) · がくせい (student)
More reading practice
おとうとさん (someone else's younger brother) · いもうとさん (someone else's younger sister) · いとこ (cousin) · おじさん (uncle) · おばさん (aunt) · まご (grandchild) · むすこ (son) · むすめ (daughter) · おや (parent) · おとな (adult) · わかもの (young person) · ろうじん (elderly person) · となりのひと (neighbor) · おきゃくさん (guest or customer) · かいしゃいん (company employee) · いしゃ (doctor) · かんごし (nurse) · せんぱい (senior colleague) · こうはい (junior colleague) · みなさん (everyone) · ひとり (one person) · ふたり (two people) · さんにん (three people) · かれ (he) · かのじょ (she)
Put it together
Look at the examples once more. Notice the small detail that makes this vocabulary lesson different from the one before it.
Guided examples
Use this example while studying family and people.
Try to recognize it before you start the quiz.
Before the quiz, can you recognize the key form from family and people?
family
Show the answer
family · This is one of the forms introduced in the lesson. Say it aloud and connect it to the explanation above.
Remember the main pattern from family and people and use the examples as your first reference. A short review is useful learning, not a setback.