사촌
sachon[ˈsʰa̠(ː)t͡ɕʰo̞n]
The Korean word for cousin is 사촌 (sachon). Wiktionary also lists 종형제 (jonghyeongje).
Meaning: child of a person’s parent’s brother or sister (noun)
Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 사촌 | sachon | [ˈsʰa̠(ː)t͡ɕʰo̞n] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) |
| 종형제 | jonghyeongje |
The term 사촌 is the most common and natural way to refer to a cousin in everyday conversation, regardless of whether they are from your mother's or father's side of the family.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 사촌 literally means 'fourth degree' relative, which refers to the genealogical distance from your common ancestor.
Which one should you use?
While 사촌 is the general term for any cousin, 종형제 is a more specific term used to refer specifically to paternal cousins (cousins on the father's side).
How do you pronounce it?
sachon
Did you know?
- If you have a second cousin, the number in the word changes to 육촌 because they are six 'degrees' of kinship away from you.
- Korean kinship terms often change based on the gender of the speaker, meaning a woman and a man might use different words to describe the same cousin.
- The term 사촌 uses the Chinese character for 'four', referring to the four steps of kinship: from you to your parent, parent to grandparent, grandparent to uncle, and uncle to cousin.
Examples in context
- 그녀는 내 사촌과 결혼한다.She's married to a cousin of mine.This sentence shows how to use 사촌 to describe someone's spouse.Tatoeba #13118815 by romzzo, translation #462420 by lukaszpp
- 메리는 톰의 사촌이다.Mary is Tom's cousin.This sentence uses 사촌 to identify a relationship between two people.Tatoeba #11106363 by intertime, translation #1030070 by CK
- 우리 사촌 동생이 요즘 학교에서 열심히 공부하고 있어.Our younger cousin has been studying hard at school lately.
- 내 사촌은 정말 친절해.nae sachon-eun jeongmal chinjeolhae.My cousin is really kind.
Example conversation
Jihoon and Subin are looking at a photo album.
- 지훈 Ji-hun이 사람은 누구예요?i sarameun nuguyeyo?Who is this person?
- 수빈 Su-bin제 사촌 언니예요.je sachon onnieyo.This is my female cousin.
- 지훈 Ji-hun정말 닮으셨네요.jeongmal dameusyeotneyo.You look really alike.
- 수빈 Su-bin맞아요, 다들 그렇게 말해요.majayo, dadeul geureoke malhaeyo.That's true, everyone says so.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cousin” translations and entries 사촌, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 사촌, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
