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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "relative" in Japanese?
親戚
shinseki
In Japanese, "relative" is 親戚 (shinseki).
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Pronunciation
Sheen-seh-kee, stress falls gently on the middle syllable, and the final 'i' is short and clipped rather than drawn out.
Writing and usage
親戚 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
先週、遠い親戚が私たちを訪ねてきました。
senshuu, tooi shinseki ga watashitachi wo tazune tekimashita.
A distant relative visited us last week.
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How to remember 親戚
Shinseki has 'seki' buried in it, which can sound like 'sake' — imagine relatives showing up whenever there's sake to share.
Related words
- sibling 兄弟姉妹 kyoudaishimai
- ancestor 先祖 senzo
- descendant 子孫 shison
- couple カップル kappuru
- partner パートナー paatonaa
- babysitter ベビーシッター bebiishittaa
- guardian 後見人 koukennin
- mentor メンター mentaa
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 親戚
How do you pronounce 親戚?
Sheen-seh-kee, stress falls gently on the middle syllable, and the final 'i' is short and clipped rather than drawn out.
Is 親戚 formal or casual?
親戚 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 親戚 written in Japanese?
親戚 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as shinseki.
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.
"Relative" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
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