Kinship/Relationship Names in Japanese
Romaji (Latin alphabet transcription) contains hyphens to delimit Japanese syllables. Please remove them in writing (e.g., oba instead of o-ba or kaicho instead of ka-i-cho, etc.). Diacritic marks can also be omitted (kaicho instead of kaichō).
| English |
Japanese (Romaji/Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji) |
| Aunt |
O-ba, おば, 伯母 (older than your father/mother) / 叔母 (younger than your father/mother) |
| Boyfriend (in a romantic relationship) |
Ka-re, かれ, 彼 |
| Chairperson |
Ka-i-chō, かいちょう, 会長 |
| Child (children, kid, kids) |
Ko-do-mo, こども, 子供 |
| Cousin |
I-to-ko, いとこ, 従弟 (male) / 従妹 (female) |
| Disciple |
De-shi, でし, 弟子 |
| Employee |
Sha-i-n, しゃいん, 社員 |
| Employer |
Ko-yō-sha, こようしゃ, 雇用者 |
| Father |
Chi-chi, ちち, 父 (referring to your father in the modest speech form)
O-tō-san, おとうさん, お父さん (referring to other's father or yours within your family)
Chi-chi-o-ya, ちちおや, 父親 (more literary than chi-chi)
|
| Female friend |
O-n-na-to-mo-da-chi, おんなともだち, 女友達 |
| Friend |
Tomo-dachi, ともだち, 友だち
Yū-ji-n, ゆうじん, 友人 (more formal than Tomo-dachi)
|
| Girlfriend (in a romantic relationship) |
Ka-no-jo, かのじょ, 彼女 |
| Grandchild (-children); granddaughter(s) and grandoson(s) |
Ma-go, まご, 孫 |
| Grandfather(s) |
So-hu, そふ, 祖父 (referring to your grandfather in the modest speech form)
O-jī-sa-n, おじいさん (referring to other's grandfather or yours within your family)
|
| Grandmother(s) |
So-bo, そぼ, 祖母 (referring to your grandmother in the modest speech form)
O-bā-sa-n, おばあさん (referring to other's grandmother or yours within your family)
|
| Great-grandchild (-children); great-granddaughter(s) and great-grandoson(s) |
Hi-ma-go, ひまご, 曾孫 |
| Great-grandfather(s) |
Sō-so-hu, そうそふ, 曾祖父 (referring to your great-grandfather in the modest speech form)
Hī-o-jī-sa-n, ひいおじいさん (referring to other's great-grandfather or yours within your family)
|
| Great-grandmother(s) |
Sō-so-bo, そうそぼ, 曾祖母 (referring to your great-grandmother in the modest speech form)
Hī-o-bā-sa-n, ひいおばあさん (referring to other's great-grandmother or yours within your family)
|
| Your junior (at school or work) |
Kō-ha-i, こうはい, 後輩 |
| Lover |
A-i-ji-n, あいじん, 愛人 (of extramarital affair)
Ko-i-bi-to, こいびと, 恋人 |
| Male friend |
O-to-ko-to-mo-da-chi, おとこともだち, 男友達 |
| Master |
Shi-shō, ししょう, 師匠 (of extramarital affair)
Shi, し, 師 (more literary than shi-shō) |
| Member |
Men-bā, メンバー
Ka-i-in, かいいん, 会員 (registered member) |
| Mother |
Ha-ha, はは, 母 (referring to your mother in the modest speech form)
O-kā-sa-n, おかあさん, お母さん (referring to other's mother or yours within your family)
Ha-ha-oya, ははおや, 母親 (more literary than ha-ha)
|
| Older Brother |
A-ni, あに, 兄 (referring to your older brother in the modest speech form)
O-nī-sa-n, おにいさん, お兄さん (referring to other's older brother or yours within your family)
|
| Older Sister |
A-ne, あね, 姉 (referring to your older sister in the modest speech form)
O-nē-sa-n, おねえさん, お姉さん (referring to other's older sister or yours within your family)
|
| Parent |
O-ya, おや, 親 |
| President (CEO) |
Sha-chō, しゃちょう, 社長 |
| President (of non-commercial organization) |
Ka-i-chō, かいちょう, 会長 |
| Rival |
Ra-i-ba-ru, ライバル |
| Your senior (at school or work) |
Se-n-pa-i, せんぱい, 先輩 |
| Student |
Ga-ku-se-i, がくせい, 学生 (collge/university)
Se-i-to, せいと, 生徒 (elementary to high school)
|
| Subordinate (at work) |
Bu-ka, ぶか, 部下 |
| Superior (at work) |
Jō-shi, じょうし, 上司 |
| Teacher |
Se-n-se-i, せんせい, 先生 |
| Uncle |
O-ji, おじ, 伯父 (older than your father/mother) / 叔父 (younger than your father/mother) |
| Younger Brother |
O-tō-to, おとうと, 弟 |
| Younger Sister |
I-mō-to, いもうと, 妹 |
|
