Study Japanese

#1 人(ひと) : People

Written by Kaori sensei

On this page you can learn vocabulary related to “people” especially “family name” in Japanese vocabulary for JLPT N5.

▶Click here to download a printable list of 800 basic words.

Note: How to call family members in Japanese?

The key point is that the way you refer to your own family and other people’s family members is different in each case in Japanese.

English translationother people’s family My family
fatherお父さん(おとうさん)父 (ちち)
motherお母さん (おかあさん)母 (はは)
older brotherお兄さん (おにいさん)兄 (あに)
younger brother弟さん (おとうとさん)弟 (おとうと)
older sisterお姉さん(おねえさん)姉 (あね)
younger sister妹さん (いもうとさん)妹 (いもうと)
grand fatherおじいさん祖父 (そふ)
grand motherおばあさん祖母 (そぼ)
uncleおじさんおじ
auntおばさんおば
husbandご主人 (ごしゅじん)夫 (おっと)
wife奥さん (おくさん)妻 (つま)
child / childrenお子さん (おこさん)子ども (こども)
son息子さん (むすこさん)息子 (むすこ)
daughter娘 (むすめ)娘 (むすめ)
Family name in Japanese (1)

Let’s look at these other important words about family.

English translationJapanese
Siblings兄弟 (きょうだい)
Parents両親 (りょうしん)
Family家族 (かぞく)
Cousinいとこ
Friends友達 (ともだち)
an only child一人っ子(ひとりっこ)
man男 (おとこ)
woman女 (おんな)
boy男の子 (おとこのこ)
girl女の子 (おんなのこ)
whoだれ
Family name in Japanese (2)

JLPT vocabulary questions often ask you to choose the same meaning. For example, if the word is “father’s brother,” it is “uncle.So, keep your family tree in mind and learn the vocabulary.

Example1.

この(ひと)は (わたし)のおじです。

= この(ひと)は (ちち)(おとうと)です。

(This person is my uncle = This person is my father’s brother)

Example2.

  この(ひと)は おばの()どもです。

= この(ひと)は (わたし)のいとこです。

(This person is my aunt’s child. = This person is my cousin)

Inforgraphic: Family tree in Japanese

Imagery is also important when learning a language. Download it and stick it where you’ll see it every day!

Family name – refer to my family
Family name- refer to other’s family

Flash card video :

You can practice these vocabularies about people in Japanese with flash cards video.

Flash card video – people-

Practice test video:

You can try JLPT practice test about today’s vocabularies! Let’s challenge!

JLPT N5 Practice test -poeple-

Recommendation books for JLPT

You can add your training with using these book for JLPT N5.

The Preparatory Course for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test: N5 Reading

You can also check this article to prepare for your exam. 

About the author

Kaori sensei

Japanese online teacher, live in Kamakura, Japan. She is currently working as a language teacher and online Japanese experience host to introduce Japanese culture to the world. She originally worked as an engineer at a Japanese company, so she is familiar with Japanese business culture too.

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