わたしの かぞく
watashi no kazokueveryday, polite
In hiragana, "my family" is わたしの かぞく (watashi no kazoku). In casual talk people also say うちの かぞく (uchi no kazoku). It is also called ごかぞく (gokazoku).
Meaning: my family (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| わたしの かぞく | watashi no kazoku | everyday, polite |
| うちの かぞく | uchi no kazoku | casual |
| ごかぞく | gokazoku | honorific, someone else's family |
To count the members, use にん (nin): よにん かぞく (yonin kazoku) is a family of four.
What does it mean word for word?
わたし (watashi) is "I", の (no) links it to the noun and かぞく (kazoku) means "family". The kanji for かぞく is 家族.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For someone else's family use the honorific ごかぞく (gokazoku), as in ごかぞくは みなさん おげんきですか (gokazoku wa minasan ogenki desu ka).
Did you know?
- In a Japanese self introduction, people often start with the number of family members using にん (nin).
Examples in context
- わたしの かぞくは よにんです。Watashi no kazoku wa yonin desu.My family has four people.
- うちの かぞくは みんな いぬが すきです。Uchi no kazoku wa minna inu ga suki desu.Everyone in my family likes dogs.
- ごかぞくは おげんきですか。Gokazoku wa ogenki desu ka.Is your family well?
Example conversation
Nana gives a short self introduction to her teacher Ms. Oka in class.
- Ms. Okaななさん、かぞくを おしえてください。Nana-san, kazoku o oshiete kudasai.Nana, please tell us about your family.
- Nanaわたしの かぞくは ごにんです。Watashi no kazoku wa gonin desu.My family has five people.
- Ms. Okaありがとう。Arigatō.Thank you.
