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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "niece" in Japanese?
姪
mei
In Japanese, "niece" is 姪 (mei).
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Pronunciation
MEH-ee, two syllables blending together similarly to oi, nephew.
Writing and usage
姪 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
姪が学校に通い始めたばかりです。
mei ga gakkou ni kayoi hajime tabakaridesu.
My niece just started school.
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How to remember 姪
Mei pairs with oi the same way niece pairs with nephew, both short two-syllable words for a sibling's child.
Related words
- grandfather 祖父 sofu
- grandmother 祖母 sobo
- uncle おじさん ojisan
- aunt おばさん obasan
- nephew 甥 oi
- cousin いとこ itoko
- stepfather 継父 mamachichi
- stepmother 継母 mamahaha
- godfather 名付け親 nazuke oya
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 姪
How do you pronounce 姪?
MEH-ee, two syllables blending together similarly to oi, nephew.
Is 姪 formal or casual?
姪 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 姪 written in Japanese?
姪 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as mei.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Niece" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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