Japanese - Family

私の___は___に住んでいます。

Watashi no ___ wa ___ ni sunde imasu.

My ___ lives in ___.

Meaning: My ___ lives in ___.

When to use: Use this to say where a family member lives. Put the family term in the first blank and a place in the second blank. Use the particle に with places.

Tip: Forgetting the particle 「に」 after the place — say 「東京に住んでいます」, not 「東京住んでいます」.

私の___は___歳です。

Watashi no ___ wa ___-sai desu.

My ___ is ___ years old.

Meaning: My ___ is ___ years old.

When to use: Use this to tell age. Put the family term in the first blank and a number in the second blank followed by 「歳」 (sai).

私は___と一緒に育ちました。

Watashi wa ___ to issho ni sodachimashita.

I grew up with my ___.

Meaning: I grew up with my ___.

When to use: Use this to explain who you lived with while growing up. Put the family person in the blank and include 「と」 after it.

私は___と仲がいいです。

Watashi wa ___ to naka ga ii desu.

I am close to my ___.

Meaning: I am close to my ___.

When to use: Use this to say you have a close relationship with a family member. Put the family person in the blank, then 「と仲がいいです」。

私たちは仲がいいです。

Watashitachi wa naka ga ii desu.

We get along well.

Meaning: We get along well.

When to use: Use this to describe a good relationship between people (family or friends). It's polite to say 「仲がいいです」; casual is 「仲いいです」。

私は___にはあまり会いません。

Watashi wa ___ ni wa amari aimasen.

I don't see my ___ very often.

Meaning: I don't see my ___ very often.

When to use: Use this when you want to say you rarely meet a family member. Put the family person in the blank; the phrase uses 「には」 for emphasis: 「___にはあまり会いません。」

Tip: Using 「を」 instead of 「に」 for meeting someone — say 「会いません」 with 「に」 (or 「には」 for emphasis).

両親は離婚しています。

Ryōshin wa rikon shite imasu.

My parents are divorced.

Meaning: My parents are divorced.

When to use: Use this to explain that your parents (両親) are separated or divorced. It's a direct, polite statement: 「両親は離婚しています。」

ご両親のお仕事は何ですか。

Goryōshin no oshigoto wa nan desu ka.

What do your parents do?

Meaning: What do your parents do?

When to use: Use this polite question to ask about someone's parents' jobs. For someone else's parents, use the honorific 「ご両親」.

Tip: Using 「両親」 without 「ご」 can sound less polite; use 「ご両親」 when speaking politely about someone else's parents.

___は私の義理の兄弟です。

___ wa watashi no giri no kyōdai desu.

___ is my brother-in-law.

Meaning: ___ is my brother-in-law.

When to use: Use this to explain a relationship by marriage. Put the person's name or relation in the blank. For more detail, say 「義理の兄」 (older) or 「義理の弟」 (younger).